Kanawha Drive is a Republican stronghold. About 18% of voters here vote Democratic and 82% Republican.
About 71% of adults in Kanawha Drive typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Kanawha Drive, ~13% vote Democratic, ~58% Republican, and ~29% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Kanawha Drive compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Kanawha Drive leans more Republican than 51 of 119 neighbors.
Kanawha Drive runs about 21 points more Republican than West Virginia as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Kanawha Drive. The southeast side is the most Republican-leaning (R+66) and the east side is the least Republican-leaning (R+48), a spread of about 18 points.
Why Kanawha Drive leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per city to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Kanawha Drive, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with low college attainment vote Republican. About 11% of adults in Kanawha Drive hold a bachelor's degree, about 6 points below the West Virginia average of 17%. A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 75% of households in Kanawha Drive are family households, above 75% of cities.
Walkability and Republican lean
Places with a low walkability score tend to lean Republican; Kanawha Drive, WV sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. A walkable street grid does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban a place is.
Why turnout in Kanawha Drive looks the way it does
Turnout in Kanawha Drive sits close to the national pattern. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Tanner, WV R+65
- Glenville, WV R+49
- Lockney, WV R+59
- Lucerne, WV R+64
- Coxs Mills, WV R+60
- Flower, WV R+66
- White Pine, WV R+68
- Normantown, WV R+61
- Sand Fork, WV D+12
- Henrietta, WV R+68
Cities with Similar Populations
- Abercrombie, ND R+43
- Minnewawa, MN R+40
- Rumpus Ridge, SD R+54
- Lund, NV R+66
- Hannastown, PA R+41
- Freeport, IA R+12
- Margarettsville, NC Even
- Blissfield, OH R+64
- Petronia, AL D+79
- Sulphur Springs, TN R+69
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.