| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 1,169 | 3,575 | 4,814 | |
| 2020 | R | 1,260 | 3,372 | 4,708 | |
| 2016 | R | 1,100 | 2,925 | 4,245 | |
| 2012 | R | 1,753 | 2,359 | 4,197 | |
| 2008 | R | 1,877 | 2,291 | 4,261 | |
| 2004 | R | 1,871 | 2,438 | 4,361 | |
| 2000 | R | 1,466 | 2,137 | 3,824 | |
| 1996 | D | 1,578 | 1,423 | 3,514 | |
| 1992 | D | 1,587 | 1,315 | 3,758 | |
| 1988 | D | 1,769 | 1,763 | 3,567 | |
| 1984 | R | 1,917 | 2,066 | 4,025 | |
| 1980 | D | 1,955 | 1,919 | 4,137 | |
| 1976 | D | 2,437 | 1,374 | 4,015 | |
| 1972 | R | 1,751 | 1,819 | 3,683 | |
| 1968 | D | 2,046 | 1,284 | 3,561 | |
| 1964 | D | 2,596 | 1,137 | 3,739 | |
| 1960 | D | 2,466 | 1,651 | 4,135 | |
| 1956 | D | 2,171 | 1,464 | 3,650 | |
| 1952 | D | 2,089 | 1,971 | 4,116 | |
| 1948 | D | 2,793 | 1,171 | 4,212 | |
| 1944 | D | 2,658 | 1,125 | 3,817 | |
| 1940 | D | 3,289 | 1,354 | 4,678 | |
| 1936 | D | 3,208 | 939 | 4,258 | |
| 1932 | D | 2,688 | 845 | 3,692 | |
| 1928 | R | 1,189 | 1,898 | 3,163 | |
| 1924 | R | 86 | 1,020 | 2,717 | |
| 1920 | R | 340 | 1,788 | 2,528 | |
| 1916 | D | 544 | 493 | 1,235 | |
| 1912 | R | 123 | 125 | 1,095 | |
| 1908 | R | 164 | 779 | 1,179 | |
| 1904 | R | 79 | 903 | 1,059 | |
| 1900 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1896 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1892 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Clearwater County in northwest Minnesota returned a 50-point Republican presidential margin in 2024, reflecting a broader rural realignment that has made once-competitive small-farm counties among the most lopsided in the state.
The Democratic margin in Clearwater County peaked at fifty-three points in 1936. By 2000 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was fifty points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Clearwater County's median household income of $64,475 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 Van Buren County and Taylor County.