akashic
1876–2024
Washington County, Arkansas
Washington County·Arkansas

Washington County voted Democratic for a century. The shift began with civil rights.

Home to the University of Arkansas, one of the state's most competitive counties

18762024·38 elections
Washington County, Arkansas · Brandonrush · Wikimedia Commons
Latest
R+7
in 2024
Archetype
Old Confederacy
since the recent cycles
Population
256,765
2024 ACS
Most similar
Madison County
AL · similarity 0.92
219 precincts · 97,158 votes cast
Trump · R+7
Margin
Turnout
Harris +50
Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
2024R
−6.7%
43,77950,24397,158
2020R
−3.9%
43,82447,50494,266
2016R
−10.4%
33,36641,47678,202
2012R
−16.3%
28,23639,68870,460
2008R
−13.1%
29,02137,96368,380
2004R
−12.7%
27,59735,72664,103
2000R
−13.2%
21,42528,23151,459
1996D
+2.1%
20,41919,47643,967
1992D
+3.6%
22,02920,29247,880
1988R
−30.1%
12,55723,60136,658
1984R
−37.3%
11,31924,99336,698
1980R
−24.0%
12,27620,78835,421
1976D
+5.0%
15,61014,13229,834
1972R
−42.2%
7,10817,52324,701
1968R
−20.6%
6,13110,64021,863
1964D
+19.4%
10,1666,85617,070
1960R
−30.0%
5,39110,08815,679
1956R
−22.4%
4,8577,68312,623
1952R
−27.4%
4,9238,65013,611
1948D
+9.0%
3,4932,8597,074
1944D
+0.1%
3,0893,0846,201
1940D
+22.2%
2,8731,8194,750
1936D
+36.1%
3,3781,5794,977
1932D
+52.6%
4,9711,5026,596
1928R
−13.2%
2,3953,1325,567
1924D
+20.0%
2,2811,4664,083
1920D
+10.6%
2,6372,1184,879
1916D
+28.5%
2,9221,6254,547
1912D
+42.0%
1,8815653,137
1908D
+22.2%
2,7481,7044,709
1904D
+17.2%
1,9781,3693,536
1900D
+31.7%
2,6581,3474,132
1896D
+45.2%
3,2081,1974,445
1892D
+12.7%
2,4571,8714,612
1888
No data
1884
No data
1880
No data
1876
No data
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
100.0%
African American
2.4%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
0.0%
speak English only
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Baptist
23.1%
Catholic & Orthodox
14.5%
Other Christian
12.0%
Methodist
4.9%
Mainline Protestant
2.2%
Pentecostal & Holiness
1.5%
Non-Christian
1.1%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 40.7% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Washington County's large university-town population keeps its presidential margins closer than most of Arkansas, swinging between single-digit Republican advantages and occasional Democratic competitiveness over the past two decades.

The shift began with civil rights. 2000 marked the realignment in Washington County, by a thirteen points margin. The Republican margin reached its widest at forty-two points in 1972. The 2024 margin was seven points.

The political shift has tracked, in Washington County, the political shift of the South more broadly. A 63% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $70,639, and a 15% poverty rate describe the demographic context. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Madison County and Hamilton County.