| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | D | 12,802 | 8,468 | 21,608 | |
| 2020 | D | 14,981 | 9,521 | 25,158 | |
| 2016 | D | 15,772 | 9,250 | 25,318 | |
| 2012 | D | 17,470 | 9,520 | 27,383 | |
| 2008 | D | 18,465 | 10,655 | 29,689 | |
| 2004 | D | 19,675 | 10,218 | 30,493 | |
| 2000 | D | 17,716 | 8,765 | 27,201 | |
| 1996 | D | 19,701 | 6,330 | 27,677 | |
| 1992 | D | 21,819 | 7,525 | 31,692 | |
| 1988 | D | 16,664 | 12,520 | 29,752 | |
| 1984 | D | 18,082 | 14,514 | 32,909 | |
| 1980 | D | 17,292 | 10,697 | 30,046 | |
| 1976 | D | 21,001 | 8,034 | 29,035 | |
| 1972 | R | 10,346 | 16,888 | 27,260 | |
| 1968 | D | 9,125 | 4,860 | 24,038 | |
| 1964 | D | 12,872 | 9,968 | 22,969 | |
| 1960 | D | 8,442 | 4,839 | 15,235 | |
| 1956 | D | 6,426 | 5,743 | 12,558 | |
| 1952 | D | 8,300 | 5,925 | 14,252 | |
| 1948 | D | 5,086 | 1,176 | 8,214 | |
| 1944 | D | 4,095 | 1,578 | 5,676 | |
| 1940 | D | 3,829 | 587 | 4,429 | |
| 1936 | D | 3,414 | 224 | 3,645 | |
| 1932 | D | 5,248 | 419 | 5,690 | |
| 1928 | D | 2,611 | 1,830 | 4,450 | |
| 1924 | D | 1,950 | 707 | 3,172 | |
| 1920 | D | 2,670 | 1,048 | 3,783 | |
| 1916 | D | 2,173 | 923 | 3,096 | |
| 1912 | D | 1,659 | 579 | 3,137 | |
| 1908 | D | 1,585 | 1,386 | 3,125 | |
| 1904 | D | 1,520 | 1,324 | 2,943 | |
| 1900 | R | 1,363 | 1,477 | 2,844 | |
| 1896 | D | 1,653 | 1,050 | 2,750 | |
| 1892 | D | 1,784 | 1,092 | 3,100 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Jefferson County's electorate is majority African American, producing consistent double-digit Democratic margins in a state that otherwise trends heavily Republican. Pine Bluff, the county seat, is one of Arkansas's largest cities and drives turnout patterns across the region.
The Democratic margin in Jefferson County peaked at eighty-eight points in 1936. By 1976 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was twenty points, the most Democratic-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Jefferson County's median household income of $51,096 sits well below state and national norms, and 19% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The shift here is part of a broader realignment of working-class places across the country. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Taliaferro County and Phillips County.