akashic
1876–2024
Mower County, Minnesota
Mower County·Minnesota

Mower County votes the way the country votes.

A meatpacking hub where union labor meets a rightward drift

18762024·38 elections
Mower County, Minnesota · Jonathunder · Wikimedia Commons
Latest
R+10
in 2024
Archetype
Bellwether
since the recent cycles
Population
40,343
2024 ACS
Most similar
Des Moines County
IA · similarity 0.99
39 precincts · 18,969 votes cast
Trump · R+10
Margin
Turnout
Harris +50
Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
2024R
−10.5%
8,31210,29718,969
2020R
−5.8%
8,89910,02519,345
2016R
−7.8%
7,4378,82317,715
2012D
+22.6%
11,1296,93818,539
2008D
+23.6%
11,6057,07519,187
2004D
+23.5%
12,3347,59120,222
2000D
+20.7%
10,6936,87318,480
1996D
+30.0%
10,4134,99418,063
1992D
+23.7%
9,9355,14720,210
1988D
+25.9%
11,8936,96919,025
1984D
+21.5%
12,4988,05420,647
1980D
+12.9%
10,5387,90820,325
1976D
+21.8%
12,8378,16321,487
1972D
+1.7%
10,2869,92920,530
1968D
+16.9%
11,0227,73619,486
1964D
+35.1%
13,5736,51020,140
1960R
−5.1%
9,96111,04021,068
1956R
−1.9%
9,2199,57018,890
1952R
−7.1%
8,5519,86218,551
1948D
+24.8%
9,4685,67215,301
1944D
+4.4%
7,1996,58813,835
1940D
+5.4%
7,9887,16915,217
1936D
+25.8%
8,2284,74313,487
1932D
+22.8%
6,4214,00510,599
1928R
−26.6%
3,5876,2099,842
1924R
−49.5%
5645,0619,088
1920R
−68.3%
1,0616,3397,725
1916R
−22.4%
1,5722,5204,240
1912R
−2.2%
1,2281,3214,177
1908R
−34.3%
1,2062,6294,143
1904R
−62.0%
5522,7693,573
1900R
−45.9%
1,0813,0764,348
1896R
−40.2%
1,4073,3794,909
1892D
+23.3%
2,2341,3103,964
1888
No data
1884
No data
1880
No data
1876
No data
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
100.0%
Polish
0.6%
African American
2.7%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
0.0%
speak English only
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Mainline Protestant
26.1%
Catholic & Orthodox
22.2%
Pentecostal & Holiness
3.5%
Other Christian
2.3%
Methodist
1.8%
Baptist
0.3%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 43.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Mower County anchors its economy around the Hormel Foods complex in Austin, giving it an unusually high share of Latino and immigrant workers for rural Minnesota. Despite that union heritage, the county has shifted more than 20 points toward Republicans over the past decade.

The Democratic margin in Mower County has rarely exceeded thirty-five points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded sixty-eight points. 2024 delivered the county to the Republican candidate by ten points.

Mower County's demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most counties. A 75% non-Hispanic-white share, a 10% poverty rate, and a median household income of $73,074 — all within the broad national range. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Des Moines County and Trumbull County.