| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 935 | 4,094 | 5,145 | |
| 2020 | R | 977 | 3,878 | 4,973 | |
| 2016 | R | 770 | 3,103 | 4,184 | |
| 2012 | R | 1,164 | 2,596 | 3,884 | |
| 2008 | R | 1,407 | 2,646 | 4,164 | |
| 2004 | R | 1,148 | 2,823 | 4,050 | |
| 2000 | R | 895 | 2,606 | 3,687 | |
| 1996 | R | 1,488 | 1,667 | 3,919 | |
| 1992 | D | 1,270 | 1,223 | 3,703 | |
| 1988 | R | 1,518 | 1,650 | 3,238 | |
| 1984 | R | 1,447 | 2,039 | 3,534 | |
| 1980 | R | 1,361 | 2,111 | 3,846 | |
| 1976 | D | 1,549 | 1,458 | 3,064 | |
| 1972 | R | 1,062 | 1,494 | 2,690 | |
| 1968 | D | 1,160 | 1,125 | 2,533 | |
| 1964 | D | 1,796 | 981 | 2,777 | |
| 1960 | D | 1,756 | 1,274 | 3,030 | |
| 1956 | R | 1,442 | 1,460 | 2,902 | |
| 1952 | R | 1,436 | 1,568 | 3,011 | |
| 1948 | D | 1,590 | 1,038 | 2,731 | |
| 1944 | D | 1,446 | 1,173 | 2,643 | |
| 1940 | D | 1,924 | 1,304 | 3,250 | |
| 1936 | D | 1,906 | 897 | 2,901 | |
| 1932 | D | 1,602 | 949 | 2,690 | |
| 1928 | R | 958 | 1,343 | 2,338 | |
| 1924 | R | 318 | 1,158 | 2,465 | |
| 1920 | R | 794 | 1,351 | 2,145 | |
| 1916 | D | 1,374 | 935 | 2,667 | |
| 1912 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1908 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1904 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1900 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1896 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1892 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Benewah County sits in Idaho's northern Panhandle, where timber and agriculture anchor a sparse, heavily rural population. Its presidential margins have exceeded 60 points in recent cycles, placing it among the most one-sided counties in the Pacific Northwest.
The Democratic margin in Benewah County peaked at thirty-five points in 1936. By 1996 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was sixty-one points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Benewah County's median household income of $59,794 sits well below state and national norms, and 13% 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 Sanders County and Crook County.