Smithers leans heavily Republican by roughly 32 points: about 34% of voters vote Democratic and 66% Republican.
About 70% of adults in Smithers typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Smithers, ~24% vote Democratic, ~46% Republican, and ~30% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Smithers compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Smithers leans more Republican than 11 of 150 neighbors.
Smithers runs about 10 points more Democratic than West Virginia as a whole.
Why Smithers 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 Smithers, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Smithers votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 27%, well above the West Virginia average of 12%). Here an older population outweighs the Democratic lean that density usually predicts.
Never-married share and voter turnout
Places with a low never-married share tend to turn out at a higher rate; Smithers, WV sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Smithers looks the way it does
Turnout in Smithers sits close to the national pattern. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Montgomery, WV R+21
- Cannelton, WV R+42
- Boomer, WV R+35
- Mount Carbon, WV R+16
- Handley, WV R+46
- Montgomery Heights, WV R+41
- London, WV R+42
- Hugheston, WV R+41
- Alloy, WV R+51
- Deep Water, WV R+26
Cities with Similar Populations
- Thornhurst, PA R+21
- Jonesville, AR R+75
- Hoard, TX R+76
- Plattville, IL R+32
- Old Lebanon, WI R+32
- Acra, NY R+27
- Wall, TX R+86
- Eckerty, IN R+54
- Sullivanville, NY R+35
- Hopkins, MO R+66
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.