| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 1,548 | 3,738 | 5,410 | |
| 2020 | R | 1,688 | 3,734 | 5,528 | |
| 2016 | R | 1,524 | 3,382 | 5,276 | |
| 2012 | R | 2,465 | 2,806 | 5,414 | |
| 2008 | D | 2,816 | 2,579 | 5,569 | |
| 2004 | R | 2,799 | 2,878 | 5,758 | |
| 2000 | R | 2,528 | 2,598 | 5,515 | |
| 1996 | D | 2,741 | 2,006 | 5,624 | |
| 1992 | D | 2,593 | 1,909 | 6,193 | |
| 1988 | D | 3,282 | 2,925 | 6,278 | |
| 1984 | R | 3,018 | 3,819 | 6,916 | |
| 1980 | R | 2,833 | 4,004 | 7,421 | |
| 1976 | D | 4,337 | 2,946 | 7,462 | |
| 1972 | R | 3,462 | 3,683 | 7,319 | |
| 1968 | D | 3,587 | 3,060 | 7,060 | |
| 1964 | D | 4,707 | 2,751 | 7,464 | |
| 1960 | R | 3,649 | 3,800 | 7,475 | |
| 1956 | R | 3,416 | 3,594 | 7,018 | |
| 1952 | R | 3,143 | 4,322 | 7,486 | |
| 1948 | D | 4,164 | 2,693 | 7,012 | |
| 1944 | R | 3,214 | 3,337 | 6,585 | |
| 1940 | R | 3,786 | 3,964 | 7,789 | |
| 1936 | D | 3,921 | 2,029 | 6,679 | |
| 1932 | D | 4,580 | 1,739 | 6,438 | |
| 1928 | R | 2,861 | 3,302 | 6,235 | |
| 1924 | R | 151 | 2,278 | 5,887 | |
| 1920 | R | 814 | 4,225 | 5,829 | |
| 1916 | R | 1,238 | 1,501 | 2,997 | |
| 1912 | D | 737 | 352 | 2,472 | |
| 1908 | R | 786 | 1,745 | 2,682 | |
| 1904 | R | 258 | 1,947 | 2,334 | |
| 1900 | R | 763 | 1,743 | 2,643 | |
| 1896 | R | 1,015 | 1,578 | 2,678 | |
| 1892 | D | 911 | 364 | 1,855 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Yellow Medicine County in southwest Minnesota has moved decisively toward Republican presidential candidates over the past two decades, posting a 40-point margin in 2024 — a striking turn for a rural agricultural county that once leaned competitive.
The Democratic margin in Yellow Medicine County peaked at forty-four points in 1932. By 2012 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was forty points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Yellow Medicine County's median household income of $74,000 sits well below state and national norms, and 9% 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 Washburn County and Iron County.