| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | D | 2,416 | 1,142 | 3,660 | |
| 2020 | D | 2,496 | 1,203 | 3,806 | |
| 2016 | D | 1,912 | 1,156 | 3,395 | |
| 2012 | D | 1,993 | 1,221 | 3,322 | |
| 2008 | D | 2,019 | 1,240 | 3,348 | |
| 2004 | D | 1,733 | 1,489 | 3,303 | |
| 2000 | R | 1,171 | 1,295 | 2,820 | |
| 1996 | D | 1,169 | 1,010 | 2,529 | |
| 1992 | D | 1,005 | 878 | 2,618 | |
| 1988 | D | 1,080 | 1,078 | 2,184 | |
| 1984 | R | 1,129 | 1,219 | 2,361 | |
| 1980 | R | 871 | 1,147 | 2,266 | |
| 1976 | R | 1,018 | 1,034 | 2,130 | |
| 1972 | R | 742 | 1,047 | 1,817 | |
| 1968 | R | 777 | 853 | 1,729 | |
| 1964 | D | 976 | 764 | 1,742 | |
| 1960 | R | 650 | 987 | 1,641 | |
| 1956 | R | 668 | 1,078 | 1,748 | |
| 1952 | R | 503 | 946 | 1,454 | |
| 1948 | D | 688 | 674 | 1,406 | |
| 1944 | D | 545 | 513 | 1,066 | |
| 1940 | D | 686 | 673 | 1,366 | |
| 1936 | D | 793 | 387 | 1,204 | |
| 1932 | D | 492 | 418 | 966 | |
| 1928 | R | 219 | 609 | 839 | |
| 1924 | R | 29 | 471 | 693 | |
| 1920 | R | 98 | 467 | 641 | |
| 1916 | D | 162 | 125 | 363 | |
| 1912 | D | 65 | 30 | 348 | |
| 1908 | R | 42 | 255 | 327 | |
| 1904 | R | 31 | 207 | 250 | |
| 1900 | R | 65 | 81 | 154 | |
| 1896 | D | 107 | 81 | 192 | |
| 1892 | D | 68 | 19 | 132 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Cook County's vast wilderness and small, dispersed population have long produced lopsided Democratic margins — its 2024 result of D+34.8 makes it one of Minnesota's most reliably left-leaning rural counties, an unusual pattern in nonurban America.
The Democratic margin in Cook County peaked at thirty-seven points in 1892. By 2004 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was thirty-five points, the most Democratic-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Cook County's median household income of $72,638 sits well below state and national norms, and 10% 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 Juneau City and Borough and Whatcom County.
