Wetzel County is a Republican stronghold. About 21% of voters here vote Democratic and 79% Republican.
About 66% of adults in Wetzel County typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Wetzel County, ~14% vote Democratic, ~52% Republican, and ~34% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Wetzel County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Wetzel County leans more Republican than 16 of 21 neighbors.
Wetzel County runs about 15 points more Republican than West Virginia as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by city within Wetzel County. The southeast side is the most Republican-leaning (R+68) and the northwest side is the least Republican-leaning (R+48), a spread of about 21 points.
Why Wetzel 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 Wetzel County, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Areas with a high white share and below-average college attainment vote Republican. In Wetzel County, about 94% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 22 points above the U.S. average of 72%; about 17% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, about 12 points below the U.S. average of 28%. Car-dependent areas vote Republican, and about 83% of residents in Wetzel County drive to work alone, above 89% of counties.
Renting and voter turnout
Places with homeowner-heavy households tend to turn out at a higher rate; Wetzel County, WV sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure.
Why turnout in Wetzel County looks the way it does
Homeowners vote more often than renters. About 83% of households in Wetzel County own their home, about 8 points above the U.S. average of 75%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Tyler County, WV R+61
- Monroe County, OH R+63
- Marshall County, WV R+50
- Doddridge County, WV R+69
- Pleasants County, WV R+59
- Belmont County, OH R+45
- Ohio County, WV R+20
- Ritchie County, WV R+68
- Harrison County, WV R+41
- Marion County, WV R+37
Counties with Similar Populations
- Dent County, MO R+65
- Harrison County, OH R+56
- Mills County, IA R+33
- Gogebic County, MI R+14
- Cannon County, TN R+69
- Jefferson County, FL R+20
- San Juan County, UT R+19
- Bourbon County, KS R+48
- Moultrie County, IL R+54
- Carbon County, WY R+57
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.