| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 778 | 2,785 | 3,625 | |
| 2020 | R | 875 | 2,859 | 3,791 | |
| 2016 | R | 845 | 2,527 | 3,595 | |
| 2012 | R | 1,402 | 2,064 | 3,569 | |
| 2008 | R | 1,546 | 1,986 | 3,608 | |
| 2004 | R | 1,568 | 2,211 | 3,836 | |
| 2000 | R | 1,440 | 2,016 | 3,561 | |
| 1996 | D | 1,536 | 1,460 | 3,375 | |
| 1992 | D | 1,464 | 1,418 | 3,710 | |
| 1988 | R | 1,612 | 1,692 | 3,334 | |
| 1984 | R | 1,606 | 2,138 | 3,769 | |
| 1980 | R | 1,311 | 2,142 | 3,680 | |
| 1976 | D | 1,807 | 1,804 | 3,671 | |
| 1972 | R | 1,268 | 2,272 | 3,596 | |
| 1968 | R | 1,331 | 2,294 | 3,869 | |
| 1964 | D | 2,555 | 1,700 | 4,257 | |
| 1960 | R | 1,760 | 3,129 | 4,894 | |
| 1956 | R | 1,833 | 3,233 | 5,068 | |
| 1952 | R | 1,577 | 3,870 | 5,480 | |
| 1948 | R | 1,917 | 2,702 | 4,688 | |
| 1944 | R | 1,997 | 3,095 | 5,122 | |
| 1940 | R | 2,416 | 4,108 | 6,550 | |
| 1936 | R | 2,804 | 3,535 | 6,422 | |
| 1932 | D | 3,135 | 2,375 | 5,581 | |
| 1928 | R | 1,944 | 3,904 | 5,875 | |
| 1924 | R | 1,209 | 3,623 | 5,970 | |
| 1920 | R | 1,682 | 4,321 | 6,086 | |
| 1916 | R | 1,735 | 1,994 | 3,797 | |
| 1912 | D | 1,495 | 1,483 | 3,768 | |
| 1908 | R | 1,730 | 2,133 | 3,960 | |
| 1904 | R | 1,416 | 2,469 | 4,014 | |
| 1900 | R | 1,893 | 2,547 | 4,516 | |
| 1896 | R | 2,076 | 2,478 | 4,628 | |
| 1892 | R | 1,789 | 2,125 | 4,030 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Van Buren sits along the Missouri border in Iowa's southeastern corner, where a sparse, agriculture-dependent population has shifted toward overwhelming Republican margins over the past decade, hitting R+55.4 in the 2024 presidential race.
The Democratic margin in Van Buren County peaked at twenty points in 1964. By 2000 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was fifty-five points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Van Buren County's median household income of $61,161 sits well below state and national norms, and 15% 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 Todd County and Cottonwood County.