The Fan is a Democratic stronghold. About 82% of voters here vote Democratic and 18% Republican.
About 77% of adults in The Fan typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in The Fan, ~63% vote Democratic, ~14% Republican, and ~23% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How The Fan compares
Among neighborhoods within 5 miles, The Fan leans more Democratic than 6 of 18 neighbors.
The Fan runs about 59 points more Democratic than Virginia as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by block within The Fan. The east side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+72) and the north side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+60), a spread of about 12 points.
Why The Fan leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per neighborhood to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for The Fan, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Dense areas vote Democratic. More than 99% of residents in The Fan live in densely developed areas, about 64 points above the U.S. average of 36%. High college attainment predicts Democratic voting, and The Fan sits in the top quarter (about 74%, above 93% of neighborhoods). A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 58% of adults in The Fan have never been married, above 92% of neighborhoods.
Population density and Democratic lean
Places with high population density tend to lean Democratic; The Fan, Richmond, VA sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in The Fan looks the way it does
Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. The Fan is in the top quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 72%, about 12 points above the U.S. average of 60%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Neighborhoods
- Carver-Richmond, Richmond, VA D+70
- VCU, Richmond, VA D+71
- The Museum District, Richmond, VA D+65
- Monroe Ward, Richmond, VA D+56
- Old Town Manchester, Richmond, VA D+64
- Ginter Park, Richmond, VA D+72
- Shockoe Bottom, Richmond, VA D+65
- Reedy Creek, Richmond, VA D+70
- Swansboro, Richmond, VA D+78
- Bellevue, Richmond, VA D+49
Neighborhoods with Similar Populations
- Valley View, Henderson, NV D+3
- Washington Park, Denver, CO D+61
- Bradford, Haverhill, MA D+9
- Rock Creek, Clackamas, OR D+10
- North Berkeley, Berkeley, CA D+82
- Shaw, Washington, DC D+84
- Lowry Park Central, Tampa, FL D+3
- North Boulder, Boulder, CO D+72
- East Forest, Charlotte, NC D+48
- Carterville, Provo, UT R+15
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.