| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 1,941 | 10,595 | 12,739 | |
| 2020 | R | 1,988 | 10,328 | 12,680 | |
| 2016 | R | 2,101 | 9,458 | 11,788 | |
| 2012 | R | 2,620 | 8,693 | 11,647 | |
| 2008 | R | 2,951 | 7,962 | 11,338 | |
| 2004 | R | 4,517 | 7,107 | 11,761 | |
| 2000 | R | 4,120 | 5,730 | 10,207 | |
| 1996 | D | 4,475 | 3,807 | 9,464 | |
| 1992 | D | 5,090 | 3,580 | 9,980 | |
| 1988 | R | 3,404 | 4,932 | 8,381 | |
| 1984 | R | 3,172 | 5,769 | 9,008 | |
| 1980 | R | 4,021 | 4,042 | 8,355 | |
| 1976 | D | 5,726 | 1,992 | 7,731 | |
| 1972 | R | 1,400 | 2,870 | 4,274 | |
| 1968 | R | 1,202 | 1,301 | 4,160 | |
| 1964 | D | 2,645 | 1,221 | 3,875 | |
| 1960 | D | 1,144 | 1,026 | 2,282 | |
| 1956 | D | 1,094 | 947 | 2,048 | |
| 1952 | D | 1,045 | 918 | 1,971 | |
| 1948 | D | 1,061 | 312 | 1,447 | |
| 1944 | D | 839 | 582 | 1,437 | |
| 1940 | D | 834 | 374 | 1,218 | |
| 1936 | D | 927 | 336 | 1,271 | |
| 1932 | D | 1,750 | 204 | 1,982 | |
| 1928 | D | 856 | 574 | 1,442 | |
| 1924 | D | 569 | 238 | 900 | |
| 1920 | D | 678 | 459 | 1,206 | |
| 1916 | D | 865 | 271 | 1,136 | |
| 1912 | D | 517 | 138 | 900 | |
| 1908 | D | 506 | 294 | 929 | |
| 1904 | D | 394 | 214 | 687 | |
| 1900 | D | 520 | 205 | 819 | |
| 1896 | D | 1,047 | 108 | 1,166 | |
| 1892 | D | 606 | 132 | 1,101 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Cleburne County, anchored by Heber Springs on Greers Ferry Lake, recorded an R+67.9 presidential margin in 2024—among the widest in a state where rural, majority-white small counties have shifted sharply over the past two decades.
The unraveling was not abrupt. The Democratic margin in Cleburne County peaked at eighty-one points in 1896; it narrowed steadily over the late twentieth century. The 2000 election delivered the county to the Republican party for the first time in many years, by a margin of sixteen points. By 2024, the margin had widened further.
The economic and demographic context is severe. Cleburne County's median household income of $55,798 is among the lowest of any county in the United States; 14% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Hart County and Miller County.