Townsend leans heavily Democratic by roughly 38 points: about 69% of voters vote Democratic and 31% Republican.
About 70% of adults in Townsend typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Townsend, ~48% vote Democratic, ~22% Republican, and ~30% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Townsend compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Townsend leans more Democratic than 32 of 40 neighbors.
Townsend runs about 60 points more Democratic than Mississippi as a whole. Mississippi leans Republican overall, while Townsend is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Townsend. The southwest side is the most Democratic-leaning (D+65) and the southeast side is the least Democratic-leaning (D+6), a spread of about 59 points.
Why Townsend 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 Townsend, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Rural, majority-Black areas of the Southern Black Belt vote Democratic, against the usual rural pattern. About 48% of residents in Townsend are Black or African American, about 12 points above the Mississippi average of 36%. Townsend runs against the grain of Mississippi, a Democratic-leaning pocket in a Republican-leaning state.
Preventive-care access and voter turnout
Places with limited routine preventive-care access tend to turn out at a lower rate; Townsend, MS sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Dental visits do not drive turnout; the rate reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access, which line up with who votes.
Why turnout in Townsend looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Townsend 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 7%, about 53 points below the U.S. average of 60%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- DeKalb, MS D+39
- Prismatic, MS D+65
- Electric Mills, MS D+21
- Porterville, MS D+34
- Scooba, MS D+27
- Daleville, MS R+11
- Moscow, MS Even
- Lynville, MS D+37
- Wahalak, MS D+21
Cities with Similar Populations
- Dixon, MT R+35
- Live Oak Springs, CA R+27
- Whiteside, MO R+62
- West Springs, SC R+64
- Whetstone, SC R+57
- Lamar Heights, MO R+62
- Cobbtown, FL R+80
- Crest Park, CA R+19
- Beallsville, PA R+43
- Rexville, NY R+63
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Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Mississippi 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.