| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 2,237 | 12,687 | 15,075 | |
| 2020 | R | 2,552 | 12,567 | 15,356 | |
| 2016 | R | 2,067 | 11,312 | 13,774 | |
| 2012 | R | 2,683 | 10,232 | 13,072 | |
| 2008 | R | 3,484 | 10,015 | 13,704 | |
| 2004 | R | 3,985 | 9,559 | 13,629 | |
| 2000 | R | 4,101 | 7,502 | 11,774 | |
| 1996 | R | 4,174 | 5,402 | 10,680 | |
| 1992 | R | 4,600 | 5,998 | 12,167 | |
| 1988 | R | 3,794 | 7,337 | 11,188 | |
| 1984 | R | 3,575 | 7,851 | 11,516 | |
| 1980 | R | 3,889 | 7,007 | 11,077 | |
| 1976 | R | 4,212 | 6,100 | 10,392 | |
| 1972 | R | 2,199 | 6,788 | 9,062 | |
| 1968 | R | 2,134 | 5,639 | 9,439 | |
| 1964 | D | 4,782 | 4,779 | 9,599 | |
| 1960 | R | 2,961 | 7,553 | 10,514 | |
| 1956 | R | 2,656 | 7,759 | 10,438 | |
| 1952 | R | 2,958 | 7,030 | 10,011 | |
| 1948 | R | 2,932 | 5,611 | 8,653 | |
| 1944 | R | 2,352 | 6,378 | 8,731 | |
| 1940 | R | 4,078 | 6,502 | 10,596 | |
| 1936 | R | 3,175 | 5,733 | 8,920 | |
| 1932 | R | 3,576 | 6,186 | 9,820 | |
| 1928 | R | 1,610 | 8,060 | 9,680 | |
| 1924 | R | 1,413 | 4,716 | 6,897 | |
| 1920 | R | 1,556 | 7,235 | 8,819 | |
| 1916 | R | 1,171 | 3,919 | 5,138 | |
| 1912 | D | 1,388 | 723 | 3,159 | |
| 1908 | R | 1,111 | 4,023 | 5,184 | |
| 1904 | R | 658 | 3,174 | 3,956 | |
| 1900 | R | 989 | 3,634 | 4,656 | |
| 1896 | R | 862 | 3,130 | 4,064 | |
| 1892 | R | 619 | 1,734 | 2,417 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Whitley County, nestled in southeastern Kentucky's Cumberland foothills, recorded an R+69.3 presidential margin in 2024, placing it among the state's most one-sided jurisdictions in a region where coal-era Democratic loyalty has largely inverted over the past two decades.
The Democratic margin in Whitley County peaked at twenty-one points in 1912. By 1968 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was sixty-nine points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Whitley County's median household income of $44,615 sits well below state and national norms, and 26% 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 Tipton County and Stephens County.