The 2017 Virginia Gubernatorial Race Based on County Population

Nov 13, 2017
Cartogram map of 2017 Virginia gubernatorial race

The geographically accurate cartogram above represents the Virginia governor's race results based on the population of each county.  The more populous a county is, the larger it is on the map.  Looking at a map of Virginia with the results of this race, the entire state is painted red leading the casual observer to believe that the Republican candidate, Ed Gillespie, won the race.  However, the map above shows that those small pockets of blue are very populous and what they lack in geography they more than make up for in votes and it gives a better picture as to how the Democratic candidate, Ralph Northam, won the race.

Findings

  • Most of Gillespie's votes came from lightly populated areas as can be seen by all the small red counties in the far western portion of the state.  On a regular map, these counties expand well into the the central portion of the state.
  • Most of Northam's votes came from heavily populated areas as can be seen by the large blue counties that take up a big chunk of this map but are mere specks on a typical map of the state.

Caveats

  • The borders represent the area of the country if it were based on population.  The location of the counties on the map is irrelevant.
  • Not all the precincts had completed their tallies at the time of data collection, so results may have changed since then.

Details

Chesterfield was the most populous county that Gillespie won and even there, it was by a slim margin.  He did really well in counties with small populations.

On the other hand, Northam did well in populous counties and managed to win several counties with small populations as well as can be seen in places like Williamsburg City (103 on the map), and Brunswick County (68).

Data

CountyPopulationPercent Voted DemocraticPercent Voted Republican
Accomack County3294745.7253.78
Albemarle County10687863.7535.12
Alexandria City15351178.3620.74
Alleghany County1559533.665.65
Amelia County1291330.4268.69
Amherst County3163335.6563.4
Appomattox County1547523.7675.27
Arlington County23005080.0718.94
Augusta County7499725.4672.7
Bath County447630.3868.4
Bedford County7796025.1273.98
Bland County651318.6480.4
Botetourt County3323127.2371.69
Bristol City1714128.970.02
Brunswick County1624357.2442.36
Buchanan County2217823.3975.95
Buckingham County1704841.7957.37
Buena Vista City661831.9665.86
Campbell County5495225.4173.63
Caroline County3017849.3549.47
Carroll County2953122.276.9
Charles City County707162.5436.83
Charlotte County1212934.7764.3
Charlottesville City4659784.7714.09
Chesapeake City23542953.0945.7
Chesterfield County33900949.3249.56
Clarke County1437443.0955.66
Colonial Heights City1782026.9371.92
Covington City565840.6158.42
Craig County515822.475.97
Culpeper County5008336.6861.92
Cumberland County965241.1957.76
Danville City4208257.1742.29
Dickenson County1496827.8271.39
Dinwiddie County2814444.5454.77
Emporia City549655.6642.99
Essex County1112346.4952.7
Fairfax City2401364.8134.02
Fairfax County113865267.8631.17
Falls Church City1389278.9719.74
Fauquier County6906939.1959.66
Floyd County1573135.4563.16
Fluvanna County2627146.2552.73
Franklin City849060.3139.1
Franklin County5606930.2768.55
Frederick County8442134.464.39
Fredericksburg City2811864.3734.13
Galax City691430.1868.63
Giles County1685727.571.32
Gloucester County3721434.3864.48
Goochland County2266837.161.85
Grayson County1510722.6976.65
Greene County1937135.1763.41
Greensville County1170656.8142.57
Halifax County3499238.7860.41
Hampton City13645471.5827.37
Hanover County10439234.1864.39
Harrisonburg City5253863.5734.87
Henrico County32650160.1637.54
Henry County5144534.8364.35
Highland County221630.6667.6
Hopewell City2237849.9848.42
Isle of Wight County3659642.1856.98
James City County7440448.9450.11
King and Queen County715942.0556.82
King George County2598437.1861.51
King William County1633433.6565.22
Lancaster County1097243.5855.79
Lee County2417919.5479.19
Lexington City726266.4632.74
Loudoun County38594559.4339.46
Louisa County3523638.0160.68
Lunenburg County1227340.2359.14
Lynchburg City7981247.1551.44
Madison County1307836.2862.5
Manassas City4176456.8641.88
Manassas Park City1572663.6134.64
Martinsville City1364558.5539.87
Mathews County878235.0264.14
Mecklenburg County3089239.7359.84
Middlesex County1077837.1361.92
Montgomery County9860253.7144.45
Nelson County1486948.8448.91
New Kent County2114731.9166.79
Newport News City18238565.1233.6
Norfolk City24639373.625.09
Northampton County1213956.8742.42
Northumberland County1222237.8261.47
Norton City393933.3765.12
Nottoway County1567342.6356.66
Orange County3553338.1260.94
Page County2365426.8672.15
Patrick County1792322.3576.69
Petersburg City3247787.7111.49
Pittsylvania County6168729.6269.78
Poquoson City1205926.8971.89
Portsmouth City9620170.228.45
Powhatan County2844327.0271.76
Prince Edward County2314250.9647.89
Prince George County3784540.2758.65
Prince William County45521060.7438.17
Pulaski County3420329.9968.54
Radford City1740354.8943.36
Rappahannock County738845.2853.9
Richmond City22028981.6517.03
Richmond County877436.9562.38
Roanoke City9989762.0336.51
Roanoke County9403137.561.24
Rockbridge County2239237.561.46
Rockingham County7974427.9470.75
Russell County2737022.4476.65
Salem City2543238.2360.36
Scott County2193017.7481.39
Shenandoah County4317529.5469.25
Smyth County3106221.1377.75
Southampton County1805740.8957.64
Spotsylvania County13201043.1355.65
Stafford County14436146.8851.87
Staunton City2441653.3444.86
Suffolk City8816158.3240.67
Surry County654456.0642.82
Sussex County1150455.6843.53
Tazewell County4215016.4282.96
Virginia Beach City45274551.8746.88
Warren County3915534.0664.74
Washington County5421424.4774.58
Waynesboro City214914553.33
Westmoreland County1759249.0449.95
Williamsburg City1505270.6728.26
Winchester City2728453.6444.71
Wise County3922822.1376.85
Wythe County2901624.874.31
York County6797643.6855.1

Sources

United States Census Bureau.  "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2016."  Accessed November 8, 2017. http://factfinder2.census.gov.

Virginia Department of Elections.  2017.  "2017 November General."  Accessed November 8, 2017.  http://results.elections.virginia.gov/vaelections/2017%20November%20General/Site/Governor.html.

Filed under: Elections