| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 1,199 | 9,109 | 10,388 | |
| 2020 | R | 1,494 | 9,367 | 10,971 | |
| 2016 | R | 1,372 | 9,129 | 10,757 | |
| 2012 | R | 1,830 | 8,652 | 10,657 | |
| 2008 | R | 2,586 | 7,165 | 9,914 | |
| 2004 | R | 4,332 | 6,659 | 11,070 | |
| 2000 | D | 5,365 | 4,980 | 10,535 | |
| 1996 | D | 5,874 | 3,337 | 10,127 | |
| 1992 | D | 6,796 | 3,970 | 12,203 | |
| 1988 | D | 7,341 | 5,166 | 12,576 | |
| 1984 | D | 7,663 | 6,959 | 14,762 | |
| 1980 | D | 8,798 | 5,460 | 14,457 | |
| 1976 | D | 7,300 | 4,624 | 12,006 | |
| 1972 | R | 4,349 | 6,527 | 10,985 | |
| 1968 | D | 6,389 | 4,572 | 13,077 | |
| 1964 | D | 9,394 | 4,025 | 13,428 | |
| 1960 | D | 9,211 | 7,485 | 16,696 | |
| 1956 | R | 6,915 | 8,820 | 15,761 | |
| 1952 | D | 10,025 | 7,284 | 17,330 | |
| 1948 | D | 9,158 | 4,402 | 13,710 | |
| 1944 | D | 8,000 | 5,815 | 13,838 | |
| 1940 | D | 10,582 | 5,859 | 16,483 | |
| 1936 | D | 11,060 | 7,510 | 18,570 | |
| 1932 | R | 9,091 | 11,118 | 20,254 | |
| 1928 | R | 3,958 | 12,251 | 16,246 | |
| 1924 | R | 2,133 | 9,634 | 13,208 | |
| 1920 | R | 1,805 | 7,493 | 9,351 | |
| 1916 | R | 690 | 2,670 | 3,435 | |
| 1912 | R | 345 | 612 | 1,788 | |
| 1908 | R | 252 | 1,392 | 1,662 | |
| 1904 | R | 286 | 1,446 | 1,738 | |
| 1900 | R | 280 | 1,577 | 1,863 | |
| 1896 | R | 216 | 1,189 | 1,430 | |
| 1892 | R | 231 | 674 | 950 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Harlan County's coal-mining identity has anchored dramatic partisan realignment: a county that voted reliably Democratic through the 1990s now posts presidential margins above 75 points Republican, among the widest in the nation.
The Democratic margin in Harlan County peaked at forty points in 1964. By 2004 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was seventy-six points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Harlan County's median household income of $41,693 sits well below state and national norms, and 27% 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 Bryan County and Wise County.