Washington County, RI Political Map | Democrat & Republican Areas in Washington County

By the BestNeighborhood data science team. Last updated May 2026.

Washington County leans slightly Democratic by roughly 12 points: about 56% of voters vote Democratic and 44% Republican. These figures are model estimates: Rhode Island did not have precinct-level voting records available for training, so the numbers above come from demographic and health features rather than local ground truth.

 

About 76% of adults in Washington County typically vote, above the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Washington County, ~43% vote Democratic, ~33% Republican, and ~24% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.

How Washington County compares

Among counties within 50 miles, Washington County leans more Democratic than 2 of 5 neighbors.

Politically, Washington County sits close to the rest of Rhode Island.

Politics vary noticeably by city within Washington County. The southeast side runs the most Democratic (D+23) and the northwest side runs the most Republican (R+11), a spread of about 34 points.

Why Washington County leans the way it does

This analysis examined 14,881 data points per county to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Washington County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.

Areas with high college attainment vote Democratic. About 53% of adults in Washington County hold a bachelor's degree, about 25 points above the U.S. average of 28%. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 33% of adults in Washington County have never been married, above 77% of counties.

Cancer-screening access and voter turnout

Places with high colon-cancer-screening access tend to turn out at a higher rate; Washington County, RI sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure. Cancer screening does not drive turnout; it reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access.

Why turnout in Washington County looks the way it does

Areas with strong routine healthcare access turn out at higher rates. Washington County 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 75%, about 15 points above the U.S. average of 60%. High high-school completion lines up with higher turnout, and about 96% of adults in Washington County have completed high school, above 96% of counties. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.

Sources and methodology

Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Rhode Island Board 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. RI did not have precinct-level voting records available for training, so the figures here come from extrapolation across demographic, health, and land-use features rather than local ground truth. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.

Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.