Jefferson County leans Republican by roughly 22 points: about 39% of voters vote Democratic and 61% Republican.
About 71% of adults in Jefferson County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Jefferson County, ~28% vote Democratic, ~43% Republican, and ~29% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Jefferson County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Jefferson County leans more Republican than 14 of 23 neighbors.
Jefferson County runs about 20 points more Democratic than West Virginia as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Jefferson County. The northwest side is the most Republican-leaning (R+43) and the northeast side is the least Republican-leaning (R+8), a spread of about 35 points.
Why Jefferson County leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per county to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Jefferson County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many family households vote Republican. About 70% of households in Jefferson County are family households, above 81% of counties.
Cancer-screening access and voter turnout
Places with high colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Jefferson County, WV sits in the top quarter nationally on this measure. Cancer screening does not drive turnout; it reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access.
Why turnout in Jefferson County looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Jefferson County is in the top quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 60%, about 8 points above the West Virginia average of 52%. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and about 81% of households in Jefferson County own their home, above 84% of counties. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Berkeley County, WV R+33
- Clarke County, VA R+18
- Winchester City, VA D+12
- Frederick County, VA R+25
- Washington County, MD R+18
- Frederick County, MD D+10
- Loudoun County, VA D+18
- Morgan County, WV R+56
- Warren County, VA R+32
- Franklin County, PA R+41
Counties with Similar Populations
- Box Elder County, UT R+56
- Windsor County, VT D+17
- Oxford County, ME R+25
- Acadia Parish, LA R+54
- Gordon County, GA R+60
- Maverick County, TX R+8
- Coffee County, TN R+55
- Anderson County, TX R+41
- Putnam County, WV R+46
- Vermilion Parish, LA R+55
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from West Virginia Secretary of State, Elections, distributed by the Voting and Election Science Team. Demographic inputs come from the U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-year estimates and the 2020 Decennial Census). Health and environmental inputs come from the CDC (PLACES and the Environmental Justice Index). Land cover comes from the USGS and EPA. Election-day and lead-up weather come from PRISM 4km daily grids and the NOAA Global Historical Climatology Network. Mail-voting and election-administration patterns come from the MIT Election Lab's Survey of the Performance of American Elections. Block-group crime detail comes from CrimeGrade. Internet data and modeling support provided by ISPreports.org.
Modeling and analysis by the BestNeighborhood data science team. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.
Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.