Participation measured against the same-year citizen voting-age population. Audited cycles count total general-election participants — ballots or participating voters, not presidential candidate votes. Cycles before 2016 predate that series and are derived from the certified presidential returns instead; they are marked everywhere they appear and are excluded from the figures below.
2004–20248 cycles · 5 audited
2024 turnout
37.6%5,435 participants ÷ 14,439 CVAP
2020→2022 drop-off
+22.4 ptsPersistently low turnout
Drop-off vs state
+1.0 ptsPositive means a larger decline than the statewide pattern
Mechanical 2026
15.3%–22.4%Recent-cycle and two-cycle persistence scenarios; not a forecast
Participation by cycle
Presidential Midterm Derived, pre-2016
0%20%40%60%
31.2%
23.5%
20042008201220162018202020222024
Select a presidential cycle to show it on the map and results ledger above.
Cycle
Participants
CVAP
Turnout
Series
Quality
5,435
14,439 ± 119
37.6%
Audited
A/A
2022Mid
3,481
14,817 ± 95
23.5%
Audited
A/A
6,527
14,234 ± 138
45.9%
Audited
C/A
2018Mid
4,716
15,112 ± 191
31.2%
Audited
A/A
6,371
16,201 ± 151
39.3%
Audited
A/A
6,188
17,510
35.3%
Derived
—
6,430
17,889
35.9%
Derived
—
7,299
18,268 extrapolated
40.0%
Derived
—
Sources and methods
Audited cycles (2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024) count total general-election participants against the same-year CVAP special tabulation, each cell carrying its own numerator and denominator quality grade. Derived cycles (2004, 2008, 2012) come from the certified presidential returns on this page over the ACS 5-year CVAP series, so they measure presidential votes cast rather than ballots — a floor on participation. Where a derived cycle predates the ACS its denominator is extrapolated rather than read, and says so on its own line below. They are shown for the longer arc and are excluded from the drop-off, excess-drop-off, and 2026 scenario figures above.
2024: numerator source 158, denominator source 157; total voters participating; eavs-f1a-v1:observed:native; allocation share 0.0%; series 311/228.
2022: numerator source 158, denominator source 157; total voters participating; eavs-f1a-v1:observed:native; allocation share 0.0%; series 306/183.
2020: numerator source 159, denominator source 157; top ticket votes; canonical-complete-contest-floor-v1; allocation share 0.0%; series 152/2.
2018: numerator source 158, denominator source 157; total voters participating; eavs-f1a-v1:observed:native; allocation share 0.0%; series 297/138.
2016: numerator source 158, denominator source 157; total voters participating; eavs-f1a-v1:observed:native; allocation share 0.0%; series 293/111.
2012 (derived): Certified presidential returns · ACS 5-year CVAP (B05003); presidential votes cast — a floor on participation, not a ballot count.
2008 (derived): Certified presidential returns · ACS 5-year CVAP (B05003); presidential votes cast — a floor on participation, not a ballot count.
2004 (derived): Certified presidential returns · extrapolated CVAP denominator; presidential votes cast — a floor on participation, not a ballot count; 2004 predates the ACS, so the denominator is a linear back-extrapolation from the 2008 and 2012 CVAP values, not a read figure.
Precinct data
Results by precinct
33 precincts · 5,425 votes
Precinct boundaries and identifiers are cycle-specific. This table does not join rows across years without a validated crosswalk.
McDowell County precinct-level presidential election results for 2024
Precinct -105105
24
302
5
331
7.3%
91.2%
R+84.0
Precinct -8484
45
256
4
305
14.8%
83.9%
R+69.2
Precinct -104104
27
272
2
301
9.0%
90.4%
R+81.4
Precinct -2828
103
167
5
275
37.5%
60.7%
R+23.3
Precinct -3434
67
196
4
267
25.1%
73.4%
R+48.3
Precinct -102102
14
208
3
225
6.2%
92.4%
R+86.2
Precinct -4040
72
143
3
218
33.0%
65.6%
R+32.6
Precinct -2020
25
184
4
213
11.7%
86.4%
R+74.6
Precinct -100100
7
200
5
212
3.3%
94.3%
R+91.0
Precinct -6666
69
135
6
210
32.9%
64.3%
R+31.4
Precinct -111111
8
192
1
201
4.0%
95.5%
R+91.5
Precinct -7373
33
156
5
194
17.0%
80.4%
R+63.4
Precinct -3232
33
153
4
190
17.4%
80.5%
R+63.2
Precinct -113113
8
176
4
188
4.3%
93.6%
R+89.4
Precinct -2323
19
142
3
164
11.6%
86.6%
R+75.0
Precinct -9191
23
136
0
159
14.5%
85.5%
R+71.1
Precinct -112112
4
149
5
158
2.5%
94.3%
R+91.8
Precinct -7878
31
118
1
150
20.7%
78.7%
R+58.0
Precinct -1717
34
104
1
139
24.5%
74.8%
R+50.4
Precinct -7272
22
111
0
133
16.5%
83.5%
R+66.9
Precinct -107107
6
121
2
129
4.7%
93.8%
R+89.1
Precinct -8787
25
93
2
120
20.8%
77.5%
R+56.7
Precinct -106106
7
101
1
109
6.4%
92.7%
R+86.2
Precinct -116116
22
81
2
105
21.0%
77.1%
R+56.2
Precinct -5858
36
66
1
103
35.0%
64.1%
R+29.1
Precinct -1111
78
18
0
96
81.3%
18.8%
D+62.5
Precinct -5050
48
43
3
94
51.1%
45.7%
D+5.3
Precinct -66
54
36
2
92
58.7%
39.1%
D+19.6
Precinct -2626
13
75
0
88
14.8%
85.2%
R+70.5
Precinct -114114
6
61
0
67
9.0%
91.0%
R+82.1
Precinct -11
36
29
0
65
55.4%
44.6%
D+10.8
Precinct -9393
10
53
0
63
15.9%
84.1%
R+68.3
Precinct -6363
27
33
1
61
44.3%
54.1%
R+9.8
presidential history
Party record book
McDowell County, WV · the strongest Democratic and Republican presidential performances recorded here, measured three ways.
1892–2024 · 34 presidential cycles
Highest vote share
Largest share of the presidential candidate vote cast here.
Democratic
Lyndon B. Johnson1964
83.0%
18,046 votes · D+66.1
Runner-up · John F. Kennedy, 1960 · 74.8%
Republican
Donald Trump2024
79.4%
4,310 votes · R+60.4
Runner-up · Donald Trump, 2020 · 78.9%
Most votes
Largest number of votes cast for the party’s presidential nominee here.
Democratic
Franklin D. Roosevelt1936
25,471votes
71.8% of the vote · D+43.7
Runner-up · Adlai Stevenson, 1952 · 24,657 votes
Republican
Herbert Hoover1932
16,069votes
56.4% of the vote · R+13.0
Runner-up · Herbert Hoover, 1928 · 14,810 votes
Best relative to the U.S.
This Place’s margin against the national margin in the same election — positive when it leaned toward the party more than the country did.
Seats representing McDowell County, WV. A county elects none of these itself — they are the members for the 1 congressional, 1 state senate and 1 state house districts it falls inside, so parts of the county are represented by different members.
U.S. House elections · 3 House
Senate and governor results are in the Office selector at the top of this page.
U.S. House
Each row shows U.S. House votes counted inside this Place. “Vote lead” is the local lead here, not necessarily the winner of the full contest.
McDowell County · which candidate this place backed in each party’s presidential nominating contest, cycle by cycle. A primary is a contest inside one party, so it has no Democratic–Republican margin and is not part of the general-election record above.
Akashic reports votes cast, not delegates awarded. The two can disagree: Clinton led the 2008 national primary popular vote by less than half a point and did not win the nomination.
Presidential nominating contests in McDowell County, by party and cycle.
○no contest record — Akashic holds no result for that party and cycle here. It is not a claim that no contest was held. Telling apart a contest that was cancelled, one that went uncontested, and one simply not yet ingested needs a nominating-contest calendar, which is a separate ingest from results and does not exist yet.
Republican presidential primaries are not yet ingested — the Republican series runs from 1856 and is in scope. The row is kept so its absence is visible: a Democratic-only panel would otherwise read as though no one else held a contest.
Akashic carries 10 states for 2012 and 3 states for 2024. Cycles in which an incumbent president seeks renomination are thin by nature — few states run a contested primary — so a sparse column is politics, not a hole in the record.
County returns carry a leader and a lead over the runner-up, and nothing more. The full candidate field with vote shares is published at state grain — follow a cycle above to the state contest for it.
The 2026 primary, precinct by precinct
33 precincts across 4 contests. Every figure here sums to this county’s certified totals.
U.S. House, district 1 — Democratic primary
County result
33 precincts
BRITTA 'BRIT' AGUIRRE✓40873.5%
VINCE GEORGE14726.5%
Precinct
BRITTA 'BRIT' AGUIRRE
VINCE GEORGE
Cast
PRECINCT 1
12
4
16
PRECINCT 6
13
9
22
PRECINCT 11
17
10
27
PRECINCT 17
9
3
12
PRECINCT 20
18
6
24
PRECINCT 23
10
3
13
PRECINCT 26
3
1
4
PRECINCT 28
32
14
46
PRECINCT 32
23
8
31
PRECINCT 34
38
5
43
PRECINCT 40
18
16
34
PRECINCT 50
2
2
4
PRECINCT 58
7
6
13
PRECINCT 63
16
6
22
PRECINCT 66
26
12
38
PRECINCT 72
13
4
17
PRECINCT 73
14
11
25
PRECINCT 78
10
1
11
PRECINCT 84
28
6
34
PRECINCT 87
9
5
14
PRECINCT 91
15
1
16
PRECINCT 93
2
1
3
PRECINCT 100
8
0
8
PRECINCT 102
6
1
7
PRECINCT 104
8
3
11
PRECINCT 105
11
0
11
PRECINCT 106
7
0
7
PRECINCT 107
7
1
8
PRECINCT 111
2
0
2
PRECINCT 112
5
0
5
PRECINCT 113
8
2
10
PRECINCT 114
6
4
10
PRECINCT 116
5
2
7
U.S. House, district 1 — Republican primary
County result
33 precincts
LARRY JACKSON✓20950.6%
CAROL MILLER20449.4%
Precinct
LARRY JACKSON
CAROL MILLER
Cast
PRECINCT 1
0
0
0
PRECINCT 6
4
5
9
PRECINCT 11
3
3
6
PRECINCT 17
5
1
6
PRECINCT 20
6
2
8
PRECINCT 23
6
5
11
PRECINCT 26
1
1
2
PRECINCT 28
9
11
20
PRECINCT 32
9
3
12
PRECINCT 34
6
10
16
PRECINCT 40
5
9
14
PRECINCT 50
1
1
2
PRECINCT 58
3
3
6
PRECINCT 63
1
4
5
PRECINCT 66
7
9
16
PRECINCT 72
6
9
15
PRECINCT 73
7
9
16
PRECINCT 78
0
5
5
PRECINCT 84
3
11
14
PRECINCT 87
3
7
10
PRECINCT 91
1
7
8
PRECINCT 93
0
2
2
PRECINCT 100
6
7
13
PRECINCT 102
17
10
27
PRECINCT 104
16
12
28
PRECINCT 105
18
15
33
PRECINCT 106
14
4
18
PRECINCT 107
8
8
16
PRECINCT 111
8
10
18
PRECINCT 112
10
4
14
PRECINCT 113
19
10
29
PRECINCT 114
4
1
5
PRECINCT 116
3
6
9
U.S. Senate — Democratic primary
County result
33 precincts
ZACHARY SHREWSBURY✓40066.2%
JEFFREY V. KESSLER6711.1%
RACHEL FETTY ANDERSON579.4%
THORNTON COOPER427.0%
RIO PHILLIPS386.3%
Precinct
ZACHARY SHREWSBURY
JEFFREY V. KESSLER
RACHEL FETTY ANDERSON
THORNTON COOPER
RIO PHILLIPS
Cast
PRECINCT 1
12
0
3
2
2
19
PRECINCT 6
16
2
2
2
0
22
PRECINCT 11
21
0
3
5
3
32
PRECINCT 17
11
1
1
1
3
17
PRECINCT 20
19
1
1
0
2
23
PRECINCT 23
9
4
0
0
0
13
PRECINCT 26
2
0
0
1
1
4
PRECINCT 28
27
5
8
4
4
48
PRECINCT 32
21
5
4
0
2
32
PRECINCT 34
35
4
5
1
1
46
PRECINCT 40
24
4
4
3
1
36
PRECINCT 50
1
0
2
2
1
6
PRECINCT 58
14
0
1
0
1
16
PRECINCT 63
15
4
1
2
1
23
PRECINCT 66
31
3
5
2
1
42
PRECINCT 72
10
4
1
1
2
18
PRECINCT 73
18
6
1
3
1
29
PRECINCT 78
10
3
0
1
0
14
PRECINCT 84
23
3
3
3
4
36
PRECINCT 87
10
1
1
2
1
15
PRECINCT 91
9
2
2
1
1
15
PRECINCT 93
3
0
0
0
0
3
PRECINCT 100
7
0
0
0
1
8
PRECINCT 102
4
1
2
0
1
8
PRECINCT 104
7
1
2
1
1
12
PRECINCT 105
10
2
0
0
0
12
PRECINCT 106
5
0
1
1
0
7
PRECINCT 107
7
1
0
0
0
8
PRECINCT 111
1
0
0
1
0
2
PRECINCT 112
4
2
0
0
0
6
PRECINCT 113
7
1
2
1
0
11
PRECINCT 114
4
3
0
1
3
11
PRECINCT 116
3
4
2
1
0
10
U.S. Senate — Republican primary
County result
33 precincts
SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO✓29671.0%
TOM WILLIS7016.8%
BRYAN McKINNEY184.3%
ALEXANDER GAASERUD153.6%
JANET McNULTY122.9%
DAVID PURKEY61.4%
Precinct
SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO
TOM WILLIS
BRYAN McKINNEY
ALEXANDER GAASERUD
JANET McNULTY
DAVID PURKEY
Cast
PRECINCT 1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
PRECINCT 6
4
5
0
0
1
0
10
PRECINCT 11
6
0
0
0
0
0
6
PRECINCT 17
2
0
1
3
0
0
6
PRECINCT 20
5
1
0
0
1
0
7
PRECINCT 23
8
2
1
0
0
0
11
PRECINCT 26
2
0
0
0
0
0
2
PRECINCT 28
12
4
0
3
1
0
20
PRECINCT 32
9
1
1
0
1
1
13
PRECINCT 34
12
3
1
0
0
0
16
PRECINCT 40
7
4
0
1
1
0
13
PRECINCT 50
1
0
1
0
0
0
2
PRECINCT 58
5
1
0
0
0
0
6
PRECINCT 63
3
0
2
0
0
0
5
PRECINCT 66
14
2
0
0
1
0
17
PRECINCT 72
9
6
0
0
0
0
15
PRECINCT 73
10
3
0
2
0
0
15
PRECINCT 78
4
1
0
0
0
0
5
PRECINCT 84
14
0
0
0
0
0
14
PRECINCT 87
9
0
0
1
0
0
10
PRECINCT 91
6
0
0
0
2
0
8
PRECINCT 93
2
1
0
0
0
0
3
PRECINCT 100
12
1
0
0
0
0
13
PRECINCT 102
24
3
1
0
0
0
28
PRECINCT 104
23
5
2
1
0
1
32
PRECINCT 105
25
2
2
1
1
0
31
PRECINCT 106
12
3
1
0
1
0
17
PRECINCT 107
12
1
2
0
0
1
16
PRECINCT 111
10
2
1
0
2
0
15
PRECINCT 112
8
3
0
2
0
0
13
PRECINCT 113
18
12
1
1
0
3
35
PRECINCT 114
2
2
1
0
0
0
5
PRECINCT 116
6
2
0
0
0
0
8
voter registration
Registered voters
By party of registration, over time
Party registration · 2026D+16.2
vs
Presidential vote · 2024R+60.4
McDowell County, WV registers Democratic but votes Republican — a 77-point gap between how voters register and how they vote, the signature of ancestral registration that trails realignment.
Net migration over time, and who arrivals are — where they came from and what those places vote
−111 net domestic migration · 2025
20112025
Net −4,552 over 2011–2025 · gain loss
Arrivals reported $34,841 in average income, against $48,149 for residents who stayed — 28% lower. (IRS SOI, 2022–23)
The places arrivals came from lean R+57.3 on average — 3.0 points more Democratic-leaning than McDowell County, WV itself (R+60.4).
Where arrivals came from lean of each source
Mercer County, WV63R+57.3
Where departures went households, 2022–23
Mercer County, WV64
Tazewell County, VA26
Migration is one input to a place’s political change, not its cause — a shift can also come from residents changing their minds, generational turnover, or turnout. These figures describe the places people moved between; they do not measure how any mover voted.
Domestic migration in McDowell County, WV in McDowell County, WV: net domestic migration by year
Year
Net domestic migration
2011
−262
2012
−299
2013
−317
2014
−540
2015
−532
2016
−453
2017
−565
2018
−166
2019
−442
2021
−289
2022
−365
2023
−149
2024
−62
2025
−111
McDowell's shift from a Democratic bedrock of Appalachian labor politics to an R+60 county tracks the broader collapse of the coal economy and the cultural realignment that followed across southern West Virginia.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 66.1 points in 1964 and a Republican high of 60.4 points in 2024. Between 2020 and 2024 the county moved 1.9 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 60.4 points.
A population of 17,943, a 87% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $31,559 describe the county. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Logan County and Lincoln County.
Akashic
Political twins — counties
The counties whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
How did McDowell County, West Virginia vote in 2024?
In 2024, McDowell County, West Virginia voted Republican by 60.4 points (R+60.4), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 5,425 votes cast, 1,036 went Democratic and 4,310 went Republican.
When did McDowell County, West Virginia last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which McDowell County, West Virginia voted Democratic was 2008.
How many people live in McDowell County, West Virginia?
McDowell County, West Virginia has a population of 17,943 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in McDowell County, West Virginia?
Median household income in McDowell County, West Virginia is $31,559 — below the national median of $80,734. The West Virginia state median is $59,608.
What is the political history of McDowell County, West Virginia?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in McDowell County, West Virginia from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 18 went Democratic and 16 went Republican.
