Ritchie County is a Republican stronghold. About 16% of voters here vote Democratic and 84% Republican.
About 66% of adults in Ritchie County typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Ritchie County, ~11% vote Democratic, ~55% Republican, and ~34% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Ritchie County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Ritchie County leans more Republican than 17 of 18 neighbors.
Ritchie County runs about 26 points more Republican than West Virginia as a whole.
Why Ritchie 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 Ritchie County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with a high white share and below-average college attainment vote Republican. In Ritchie County, about 97% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 24 points above the U.S. average of 72%; about 15% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, about 14 points below the U.S. average of 28%.
Walkability and Republican lean
Places with a low walkability score tend to lean Republican; Ritchie County, 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 Ritchie County looks the way it does
Homeowners vote more often than renters. About 84% of households in Ritchie County own their home, about 9 points above the U.S. average of 75%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Pleasants County, WV R+59
- Doddridge County, WV R+69
- Tyler County, WV R+61
- Wirt County, WV R+65
- Gilmer County, WV R+40
- Calhoun County, WV R+65
- Wood County, WV R+41
- Washington County, OH R+42
- Wetzel County, WV R+57
- Lewis County, WV R+57
Counties with Similar Populations
- Johnson County, WY R+60
- Warren County, IN R+58
- Maries County, MO R+66
- Sitka City and Borough, AK D+13
- Daviess County, MO R+63
- Jack County, TX R+74
- Trimble County, KY R+57
- Montgomery County, AR R+67
- Bracken County, KY R+58
- Carroll County, MO R+61
All Local Stats
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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.