Mc Dowell is a Republican stronghold. About 24% of voters here vote Democratic and 76% Republican.
About 89% of adults in Mc Dowell typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Mc Dowell, ~21% vote Democratic, ~68% Republican, and ~11% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Mc Dowell compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Mc Dowell leans more Republican than 13 of 53 neighbors.
Mc Dowell runs about 58 points more Republican than Virginia as a whole. Virginia leans Democratic overall, while Mc Dowell is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Why Mc Dowell 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 Mc Dowell, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Mc Dowell votes against the grain of Virginia. Virginia leans Democratic overall, while Mc Dowell runs about 58 points more Republican. Rural areas vote Republican, and Mc Dowell sits in the bottom quarter on density (about 3%, below 93% of cities). A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 76% of households in Mc Dowell are family households, above 80% of cities.
Paved land cover and Republican lean
Places with little paved surface tend to lean Republican; Mc Dowell, VA sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Paved ground does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban and built-up a place is.
Why turnout in Mc Dowell looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Mc Dowell 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 68%, about 8 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Homeowners vote more often than renters, and about 98% of households in Mc Dowell own their home, about 23 points above the U.S. average of 75%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Doe Hill, VA R+51
- Monterey, VA R+44
- Head Waters, VA R+61
- Vanderpool, VA R+44
- Patna, VA R+58
- Hightown, VA R+44
- West Augusta, VA R+65
- New Hampden, VA R+44
- Deerfield, VA R+64
- Blue Grass, VA R+44
Cities with Similar Populations
- Merrill, MS R+61
- Sutcliffe, NV R+18
- East Fryeburg, ME R+33
- St. Philip, IN R+36
- Rochester, MO R+60
- Perth, VA R+31
- Scotland Fork, MS R+20
- Prospect Ferry, ME R+19
- Cope, CO R+79
- Coldwater, TN R+76
All Local Stats
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Virginia Department of 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.