| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 884 | 4,197 | 5,127 | |
| 2020 | R | 975 | 3,959 | 5,012 | |
| 2016 | R | 976 | 3,491 | 4,620 | |
| 2012 | R | 1,425 | 2,676 | 4,184 | |
| 2008 | R | 1,350 | 2,734 | 4,199 | |
| 2004 | R | 1,472 | 2,645 | 4,157 | |
| 2000 | R | 1,318 | 2,476 | 3,849 | |
| 1996 | R | 1,349 | 1,651 | 3,377 | |
| 1992 | D | 1,703 | 1,683 | 3,813 | |
| 1988 | R | 1,705 | 2,179 | 3,915 | |
| 1984 | R | 1,575 | 2,349 | 3,944 | |
| 1980 | R | 1,628 | 2,013 | 3,707 | |
| 1976 | D | 1,877 | 1,356 | 3,266 | |
| 1972 | R | 1,308 | 1,896 | 3,238 | |
| 1968 | R | 1,001 | 1,566 | 3,046 | |
| 1964 | D | 1,967 | 1,277 | 3,252 | |
| 1960 | R | 1,553 | 2,146 | 3,699 | |
| 1956 | R | 2,014 | 2,412 | 4,438 | |
| 1952 | R | 1,848 | 2,176 | 4,037 | |
| 1948 | D | 1,683 | 1,640 | 3,346 | |
| 1944 | R | 1,694 | 2,306 | 4,012 | |
| 1940 | R | 1,826 | 2,206 | 4,044 | |
| 1936 | R | 1,748 | 1,777 | 3,530 | |
| 1932 | D | 1,985 | 1,729 | 3,730 | |
| 1928 | R | 1,144 | 2,314 | 3,458 | |
| 1924 | R | 1,262 | 1,450 | 2,728 | |
| 1920 | R | 1,442 | 1,809 | 3,259 | |
| 1916 | R | 1,046 | 1,107 | 2,172 | |
| 1912 | D | 887 | 482 | 2,018 | |
| 1908 | R | 968 | 1,311 | 2,312 | |
| 1904 | R | 1,011 | 1,115 | 2,157 | |
| 1900 | R | 1,050 | 1,162 | 2,227 | |
| 1896 | R | 908 | 1,153 | 2,127 | |
| 1892 | R | 495 | 756 | 1,644 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Metcalfe County, a rural south-central Kentucky community of roughly 10,000, recorded an R+64.6 presidential margin in 2024, placing it among the state's most politically uniform counties by vote share.
The Democratic margin in Metcalfe County peaked at twenty-one points in 1964. By 1996 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was sixty-five points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Metcalfe County's median household income of $51,473 sits well below state and national norms, and 28% 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 Craig County and Hart County.