Wheeling leans Republican by roughly 16 points: about 42% of voters vote Democratic and 58% Republican.
About 67% of adults in Wheeling typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Wheeling, ~28% vote Democratic, ~39% Republican, and ~33% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Wheeling compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Wheeling leans more Republican than 1 of 140 neighbors.
Wheeling runs about 25 points more Democratic than West Virginia as a whole.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Wheeling. The west side runs the most Democratic (D+3) and the south side runs the most Republican (R+39), a spread of about 42 points.
Why Wheeling 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 Wheeling, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Wheeling votes Republican even though it is densely developed (about 54%, far above the West Virginia average of 12%). State and regional patterns outweigh the Democratic lean that density usually predicts here.
Paved land cover and Democratic lean
Places with extensive paved surfaces tend to lean Democratic; Wheeling, WV sits in the top tenth nationally on this measure. Paved ground does not change how people vote; it mostly reflects how urban and built-up a place is.
Why turnout in Wheeling looks the way it does
Turnout in Wheeling sits close to the national pattern. Routine healthcare access, homeownership, education, and food security all land near their national averages here. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- Bethlehem, WV R+30
- Martins Ferry, OH R+30
- Riverview, OH R+52
- Brookside, OH R+40
- Triadelphia, WV R+46
- Benwood, WV R+39
- Bridgeport, OH R+43
- Clearview, WV R+34
- Lansing, OH R+44
- Bellaire, OH R+39
Cities with Similar Populations
- Mattapan, MA D+74
- Culpeper, VA R+14
- Farmington, MN R+11
- La Porte, TX R+36
- Desert Hot Springs, CA D+13
- Fair Lawn, NJ D+3
- Oxford, MS R+12
- Fairbanks, AK D+5
- Pekin, IL R+25
- Greenfield, IN R+38
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.