| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 2,201 | 4,911 | 7,284 | |
| 2020 | R | 2,359 | 4,906 | 7,440 | |
| 2016 | R | 1,989 | 4,049 | 6,575 | |
| 2012 | R | 2,567 | 3,917 | 6,674 | |
| 2008 | R | 3,241 | 3,791 | 7,191 | |
| 2004 | R | 3,120 | 3,880 | 7,118 | |
| 2000 | R | 3,171 | 3,378 | 6,900 | |
| 1996 | D | 2,926 | 2,828 | 6,538 | |
| 1992 | D | 2,959 | 2,521 | 7,530 | |
| 1988 | R | 3,177 | 3,243 | 6,614 | |
| 1984 | R | 2,641 | 4,537 | 7,255 | |
| 1980 | R | 3,063 | 4,084 | 7,581 | |
| 1976 | D | 4,108 | 4,030 | 8,344 | |
| 1972 | R | 2,404 | 5,471 | 8,066 | |
| 1968 | R | 3,379 | 3,644 | 7,922 | |
| 1964 | D | 5,037 | 3,147 | 8,229 | |
| 1960 | R | 4,336 | 4,793 | 9,160 | |
| 1956 | R | 3,134 | 5,608 | 8,751 | |
| 1952 | R | 3,283 | 6,004 | 9,296 | |
| 1948 | R | 3,910 | 4,141 | 8,113 | |
| 1944 | R | 3,325 | 4,731 | 8,076 | |
| 1940 | R | 4,557 | 5,921 | 10,560 | |
| 1936 | D | 5,817 | 5,312 | 11,160 | |
| 1932 | D | 5,640 | 4,778 | 10,575 | |
| 1928 | R | 3,756 | 6,647 | 10,440 | |
| 1924 | R | 2,199 | 6,246 | 9,786 | |
| 1920 | R | 3,082 | 5,872 | 9,031 | |
| 1916 | D | 4,634 | 4,624 | 9,512 | |
| 1912 | D | 2,449 | 1,535 | 5,602 | |
| 1908 | R | 2,593 | 3,244 | 5,905 | |
| 1904 | R | 1,854 | 3,542 | 5,513 | |
| 1900 | R | 2,682 | 3,390 | 6,104 | |
| 1896 | R | 2,963 | 3,326 | 6,317 | |
| 1892 | R | 0 | 2,718 | 5,422 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Atchison County sits along the Missouri River in northeastern Kansas, a rural stretch where the 2024 presidential margin reached R+37.4 — reflecting a broader rural realignment that has steadily deepened over the past decade.
The Democratic margin in Atchison County peaked at twenty-three points in 1964. By 2000 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was thirty-seven points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Atchison County's median household income of $61,112 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 Bates County and Lincoln County.