Spencer is a Republican stronghold. About 22% of voters here vote Democratic and 78% Republican.
About 62% of adults in Spencer typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Spencer, ~14% vote Democratic, ~48% Republican, and ~38% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Spencer compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Spencer leans more Republican than 6 of 110 neighbors.
Spencer runs about 13 points more Republican than West Virginia as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Spencer. The northeast side is the most Republican-leaning (R+60) and the west side is the least Republican-leaning (R+48), a spread of about 12 points.
Why Spencer 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 Spencer, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with a high white share and below-average college attainment vote Republican. In Spencer, about 95% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 22 points above the U.S. average of 72%; about 15% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, about 13 points below the U.S. average of 28%.
Park access and Republican lean
Places with low park coverage tend to lean Republican; Spencer, WV sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Park access does not change how people vote; it tends to track denser, higher-income areas.
Why turnout in Spencer looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Spencer 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 45%, about 7 points below the West Virginia average of 52%. Renters vote less often than owners, and about 30% of households in Spencer rent, compared to around 13% in nearby cities. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 24% of adults in Spencer report food insecurity, above 89% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Nancy Run, WV R+65
- Reedyville, WV R+55
- Clio, WV R+61
- Speed, WV R+60
- Clover, WV R+61
- Richardson, WV R+64
- Otto, WV R+61
- Reedy, WV R+65
- Peniel, WV R+64
- Countsville, WV R+62
Cities with Similar Populations
- Grant-Valkaria, FL R+41
- Disputanta, VA R+30
- Macon, MS D+62
- Kingsley, MI R+39
- Cotulla, TX R+6
- Fairview, GA R+58
- Niota, TN R+71
- Knob Noster, MO R+41
- Harrington Park, NJ D+5
- Onsted, MI R+33
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.