akashic
1876–2024
Rio Grande County, Colorado
Rio Grande County·Colorado

Rio Grande County has voted Republican for as long as anyone can remember.

A rural San Luis Valley county where ag and water rights shape the ballot

18762024·38 elections
Rio Grande County, Colorado · Jeffrey Beall · Wikimedia Commons
Latest
R+23
in 2024
Archetype
Republican loyalist
since the recent cycles
Population
11,321
2024 ACS
Most similar
Leake County
MS · similarity 0.98
15 precincts · 6,194 votes cast
Trump · R+23
Margin
Turnout
Harris +50
Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
2024R
−23.2%
2,3063,7436,194
2020R
−18.5%
2,4953,6606,305
2016R
−19.6%
2,0013,0855,534
2012R
−8.0%
2,4782,9185,533
2008R
−8.9%
2,4482,9305,444
2004R
−26.1%
2,0063,4485,526
2000R
−27.7%
1,7073,1115,075
1996R
−9.5%
1,7202,1294,301
1992R
−8.5%
1,5411,9274,533
1988R
−25.5%
1,5452,6264,235
1984R
−47.3%
1,1043,1224,262
1980R
−32.8%
1,3702,8444,488
1976R
−27.4%
1,4752,6274,212
1972R
−44.0%
1,0292,7873,999
1968R
−21.0%
1,5622,4424,187
1964D
+11.9%
2,1611,6993,867
1960R
−17.2%
1,7822,5244,312
1956R
−32.2%
1,4412,8164,264
1952R
−40.5%
1,3503,2014,566
1948R
−6.1%
1,8142,0493,876
1944R
−31.8%
1,3252,5673,900
1940R
−15.5%
2,2423,0755,357
1936D
+15.3%
2,5741,8844,524
1932D
+23.1%
2,5391,5574,258
1928R
−29.2%
1,2262,2543,520
1924R
−22.1%
9221,5722,938
1920R
−24.8%
9851,6602,721
1916D
+32.0%
1,7568862,717
1912D
+21.0%
1,2866982,794
1908D
+0.7%
1,1391,1222,313
1904R
−33.3%
6901,4172,181
1900D
+19.2%
1,1187521,907
1896D
+76.9%
1,4281761,628
1892R
−48.8%
05391,104
1888R
−26.2%
261454738
1884R
−21.1%
289448753
1880R
−20.2%
198298496
1876
No data
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
100.0%
Irish
0.8%
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
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
Catholic & Orthodox
17.7%
Other Christian
11.9%
Pentecostal & Holiness
7.1%
Baptist
4.3%
Mainline Protestant
1.9%
Methodist
1.2%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 55.9% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Rio Grande sits in Colorado's high-desert San Luis Valley, where irrigated potato and barley farming dominate the economy. Voters have shifted steadily toward Republican margins over the past decade, hitting R+23 in 2024.

The Republican margin in Rio Grande County reached its widest at forty-nine points in 1892. The margin in 2024 was twenty-three points, in line with the county's deep historical pattern.

Rio Grande County's loyalty is rooted in its place. Median household income of $64,411, a 73% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 11,321 together describe a community whose political habits are deeply settled. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Leake County and Monroe County.