Wirt County is a Republican stronghold. About 17% of voters here vote Democratic and 83% Republican.
About 60% of adults in Wirt County typically vote, near the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Wirt County, ~10% vote Democratic, ~50% Republican, and ~40% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Wirt County compares
Among counties within 50 miles, Wirt County leans more Republican than 19 of 21 neighbors.
Wirt County runs about 23 points more Republican than West Virginia as a whole.
Why Wirt 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 Wirt 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 Wirt County, about 96% of residents are non-Hispanic white, about 24 points above the U.S. average of 72%; about 15% of adults hold a bachelor's degree, about 13 points below the U.S. average of 28%. Rural areas vote Republican, and Wirt County sits in the bottom quarter on density (about 5%, below 94% of counties). A high family-household share predicts Republican voting, and about 72% of households in Wirt County are family households, above 89% of counties.
Preventive-care access and voter turnout
Places with limited routine preventive-care access tend to turn out at a lower rate; Wirt County, WV 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 Wirt County looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Wirt County 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 49%, about 11 points below the U.S. average of 60%. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Counties
- Wood County, WV R+41
- Calhoun County, WV R+65
- Ritchie County, WV R+68
- Jackson County, WV R+57
- Roane County, WV R+60
- Pleasants County, WV R+59
- Washington County, OH R+42
- Gilmer County, WV R+40
- Meigs County, OH R+58
- Mason County, WV R+59
Counties with Similar Populations
- Pulaski County, IL R+26
- Kingsbury County, SD R+50
- Carter County, MO R+71
- Polk County, NE R+62
- Warren County, GA D+15
- Big Stone County, MN R+33
- Delta County, TX R+68
- Aleutians West Census Area, AK Even
- Martin County, TX R+68
- Scott County, KS R+67
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.