Penwell is a Republican stronghold. About 16% of voters here vote Democratic and 84% Republican.
About 35% of adults in Penwell typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Penwell, ~6% vote Democratic, ~29% Republican, and ~65% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Penwell compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Penwell leans more Republican than 5 of 7 neighbors.
Penwell runs about 54 points more Republican than Texas as a whole.
Why Penwell 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 Penwell, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with many family households vote Republican. About 83% of households in Penwell are family households, about 16 points above the U.S. average of 67%.
Preventive-care access and voter turnout
Places with limited routine preventive-care access tend to turn out at a lower rate; Penwell, TX sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Dental visits do not drive turnout; the rate reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access, which line up with who votes.
Why turnout in Penwell looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Penwell is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 49%, about 5 points below the Texas average of 54%. Low high-school completion lines up with lower turnout, and about 75% of adults in Penwell have completed high school, below 96% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- West Odessa, TX R+46
- Goldsmith, TX R+58
- Odessa, TX R+41
- Monahans, TX R+54
- Thorntonville, TX R+73
- Crane, TX R+48
- Notrees, TX R+72
- Wickett, TX R+73
- Gardendale, TX R+75
- Grandfalls, TX R+73
Cities with Similar Populations
- Fulda, IN R+42
- Whiteland, TX R+76
- Whiteville, OH R+49
- Floralhill, GA R+47
- Prairie, ID R+55
- Drake, SC R+33
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Texas Secretary of State, Elections Division, 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.