| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 288 | 1,854 | 2,170 | |
| 2020 | R | 291 | 2,014 | 2,342 | |
| 2016 | R | 286 | 1,850 | 2,261 | |
| 2012 | R | 482 | 1,772 | 2,314 | |
| 2008 | R | 598 | 1,833 | 2,462 | |
| 2004 | R | 588 | 1,782 | 2,403 | |
| 2000 | R | 637 | 1,755 | 2,498 | |
| 1996 | R | 730 | 1,696 | 2,729 | |
| 1992 | R | 759 | 1,225 | 2,881 | |
| 1988 | R | 1,118 | 1,539 | 2,706 | |
| 1984 | R | 806 | 2,112 | 2,940 | |
| 1980 | R | 914 | 1,872 | 2,994 | |
| 1976 | R | 1,494 | 1,568 | 3,109 | |
| 1972 | R | 727 | 2,308 | 3,108 | |
| 1968 | R | 1,027 | 2,023 | 3,341 | |
| 1964 | D | 1,845 | 1,758 | 3,624 | |
| 1960 | R | 1,347 | 2,703 | 4,066 | |
| 1956 | R | 1,241 | 2,698 | 3,949 | |
| 1952 | R | 1,028 | 3,071 | 4,145 | |
| 1948 | R | 1,891 | 2,013 | 3,953 | |
| 1944 | R | 1,501 | 2,140 | 3,672 | |
| 1940 | R | 2,074 | 2,389 | 4,521 | |
| 1936 | D | 2,774 | 1,816 | 4,608 | |
| 1932 | D | 2,321 | 1,671 | 4,088 | |
| 1928 | R | 871 | 2,984 | 3,904 | |
| 1924 | R | 909 | 2,218 | 3,808 | |
| 1920 | R | 1,098 | 2,400 | 3,612 | |
| 1916 | D | 2,061 | 1,632 | 3,983 | |
| 1912 | D | 883 | 295 | 2,317 | |
| 1908 | R | 864 | 1,097 | 2,042 | |
| 1904 | R | 566 | 967 | 1,659 | |
| 1900 | R | 783 | 862 | 1,685 | |
| 1896 | D | 729 | 597 | 1,343 | |
| 1892 | R | 0 | 1,439 | 2,339 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Barber County's sparse, ranch-dominated landscape in south-central Kansas produces some of the state's widest presidential margins, with fewer than 5,400 residents spread across 1,134 square miles of rugged red-bed terrain.
The Democratic margin in Barber County peaked at twenty-five points in 1912. By 1968 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was seventy-two points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Barber County's median household income of $61,926 sits well below state and national norms, and 12% 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 Harper County and Edwards County.