West Virginia 42nd State House District, West Virginia: Realigner district. In 2024, voted R+54%. Democratic peak: D+54 in 1964.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+54MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- RealignerAkashic typology
- Population
- 20,4212024 5-year
- Median household income
- $52,1502024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 87.4%2024 5-year
- Black
- 6.9%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 1.8%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+54 in 1964MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+54 in 2024MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for Delegate District 42, WVOne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 1,902 | 6,596 | 8,639 | ||
| R | 2,227 | 6,884 | 9,239 | ||
| R | 1,798 | 6,151 | 8,340 | ||
| R | 2,159 | 5,751 | 8,045 | ||
| R | 2,856 | 4,896 | 7,883 | ||
| R | 3,296 | 5,167 | 8,516 | ||
| R | 3,082 | 3,512 | 6,713 | ||
| D | 3,500 | 2,407 | 6,590 | ||
| D | 3,675 | 2,427 | 7,034 | ||
| D | 3,990 | 2,900 | 6,914 | ||
| R | 4,029 | 4,065 | 8,125 | ||
| D | 4,730 | 2,989 | 8,044 | ||
| D | 5,515 | 2,968 | 8,483 | ||
| R | 2,953 | 5,343 | 8,296 | ||
| D | 4,950 | 2,448 | 8,232 | ||
| D | 6,586 | 1,940 | 8,525 | ||
| D | 5,705 | 3,372 | 9,077 | ||
| R | 4,538 | 4,553 | 9,090 | ||
| D | 6,334 | 3,907 | 10,241 | ||
| D | 5,495 | 2,905 | 8,442 | ||
| D | 5,018 | 2,880 | 7,899 | ||
| D | 6,446 | 3,279 | 9,725 | ||
| D | 6,372 | 2,511 | 8,896 | ||
| D | 4,312 | 3,192 | 7,555 | ||
| R | 2,892 | 3,231 | 6,123 | ||
| R | 2,169 | 2,411 | 4,878 | ||
| R | 1,651 | 2,139 | 3,807 | ||
| R | 926 | 1,058 | 2,026 | ||
| O | 654 | 250 | 1,821 | ||
| R | 528 | 706 | 1,280 | ||
| R | 389 | 516 | 936 | ||
| D | 386 | 314 | 702 | ||
| R | 308 | 321 | 630 | ||
| D | 269 | 243 | 518 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
36.5%
Irish
9.1%
German
8.4%
American
8.3%
Italian
2.8%
Scottish
1.5%
French
1.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 42.9 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$52,150
Delegate District 42 ranks near the middle of US counties.
Delegate District 42$52,150
West Virginia$59,608
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
22.8%
Children face higher poverty than working-age adults.
Children under 1831.8%
Working age (18–64)21.1%
Seniors (65+)14.6%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
97.3%
speak English only
Spanish1.5%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.6%
Other languages0.5%
Other Indo-European0.2%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 67.9% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Delegate District 42 recorded an R+67 presidential margin in 2024, placing it among the state's most reliably one-sided districts. With fewer than 19,000 residents, its electoral signal is driven by the rural, working-class demographics typical of southern West Virginia.
The unraveling was not abrupt. The Democratic margin in West Virginia 42nd State House District peaked at fifty-four points in 1964; it narrowed steadily over the late twentieth century. The 2000 election delivered the district to the Republican party for the first time in many years, by a margin of six points. By 2024, the margin had widened further.
The economic and demographic context is severe. The median household income of $52,150 is among the lowest at this geographic scale; 23% of residents live below the federal poverty line.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Delegate District 42, West Virginia. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-lower/54042/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did Delegate District 42, West Virginia vote in 2024?
In 2024, Delegate District 42, West Virginia voted Republican by 54.3 points (R+54), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 8,639 votes cast, 1,902 went Democratic and 6,596 went Republican.
What is Delegate District 42, West Virginia's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Delegate District 42, West Virginia as a "Realigner" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 16 times, Republican 17 times, and other 1 times.
When did Delegate District 42, West Virginia last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Delegate District 42, West Virginia voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Delegate District 42, West Virginia?
Delegate District 42, West Virginia has a population of 20,421 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Delegate District 42, West Virginia?
Median household income in Delegate District 42, West Virginia is $52,150 — below the national median of $80,734. The West Virginia state median is $59,608.
What is the political history of Delegate District 42, West Virginia?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Delegate District 42, West Virginia from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 16 went Democratic and 17 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Realigner" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.