Russell is a Republican stronghold. About 16% of voters here vote Democratic and 84% Republican.
About 61% of adults in Russell typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Russell, ~10% vote Democratic, ~51% Republican, and ~39% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Russell compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Russell leans more Republican than 59 of 137 neighbors.
Russell runs about 74 points more Republican than Virginia as a whole. Virginia leans Democratic overall, while Russell is one of the few Republican-leaning pockets.
Why Russell 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 Russell, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with a high white share and below-average college attainment vote Republican. In Russell, about 98% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 26 points above the U.S. average of 72%; about 17% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, about 12 points below the Virginia average of 29%. Car-dependent areas vote Republican, and about 86% of residents in Russell drive to work alone, above 85% of cities. Russell runs against the grain of Virginia, a Republican-leaning pocket in a Democratic-leaning state.
Paved land cover and Republican lean
Places with little paved surface tend to lean Republican; Russell, VA sits in the bottom quarter 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 Russell looks the way it does
High-crime urban areas turn out at lower rates, mostly because the housing stress common in those areas makes voting harder. Russell sits in the top 15% nationally on a violent-crime measure. See CrimeGrade for more details. Low high-school completion lines up with lower turnout, and about 68% of adults in Russell have completed high school, below 98% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Venia, VA R+69
- Skeggs, VA R+68
- Rowe, VA R+70
- Council, VA R+68
- Lynn Spring, VA R+71
- Page, VA R+62
- Mount Heron, VA R+70
- Vandyke, VA R+69
- Corn Valley, VA R+72
- Davenport, VA R+70
Cities with Similar Populations
- Little Hope, PA R+44
- Lamar, OK R+70
- Wards, NC R+43
- Energy, MS R+56
- Quackenkill, NY R+19
- Long Bridge, LA R+27
- Berkshire Heights, MA D+61
- West Bridgton, ME R+17
- Farmington Falls, ME R+8
- Frederick, SD R+58
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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.