Portsmouth, VA Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in Portsmouth

By the BestNeighborhood data science team. Last updated May 2026.

Portsmouth leans heavily Democratic by roughly 42 points: about 71% of voters vote Democratic and 29% Republican.

 

About 65% of adults in Portsmouth typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Portsmouth, ~46% vote Democratic, ~19% Republican, and ~35% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Portsmouth compares

Among cities within 25 miles, Portsmouth leans more Democratic than 19 of 20 neighbors.

Portsmouth runs about 36 points more Democratic than Virginia as a whole.

Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Portsmouth. The east side runs the most Democratic (D+76) and the west side runs the most Republican (R+21), a spread of about 97 points.

Why Portsmouth 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 Portsmouth, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.

Dense areas vote Democratic. About 88% of residents in Portsmouth live in densely developed areas, about 52 points above the U.S. average of 36%. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 41% of adults in Portsmouth have never been married, above 94% of cities.

Walkability and Democratic lean

Places with a highly walkable street grid tend to lean Democratic; Portsmouth, VA sits in the top 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 Portsmouth looks the way it does

Turnout in Portsmouth sits close to the national pattern. Routine healthcare access, homeownership, education, and food security all land near their national averages here. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.

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.