akashic
1876–2024
Benton County, Mississippi
Benton County·Mississippi

Benton County changed direction in the last decade.

A rural hill-country county where Republican margins have deepened each cycle

18762024·38 elections
Benton County, Mississippi · Cohee · Wikimedia Commons
Latest
R+31
in 2024
Archetype
Recent convert
since the recent cycles
Population
7,589
2024 ACS
Most similar
Mississippi County
AR · similarity 0.97
5 precincts · 3,884 votes cast
Trump · R+31
Margin
Turnout
Harris +50
Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
2024R
−31.3%
1,3182,5353,884
2020R
−20.8%
1,6792,5704,289
2016R
−13.2%
1,7192,2514,022
2012D
+0.2%
2,0512,0414,116
2008R
−2.2%
2,2272,3294,638
2004D
+6.5%
2,2451,9694,247
2000D
+9.3%
1,8861,5613,481
1996D
+30.0%
1,9449933,166
1992D
+29.1%
2,4021,2533,955
1988D
+4.6%
1,7181,5653,309
1984R
−0.6%
1,7151,7373,466
1980D
+24.5%
2,0941,2543,427
1976D
+49.4%
2,3757903,209
1972R
−35.0%
7011,4832,235
1968D
+25.0%
8501852,665
1964R
−59.7%
2369341,170
1960D
+36.0%
5681751,091
1956D
+71.8%
786108944
1952D
+63.4%
9632161,179
1948D
+13.2%
11811810
1944D
+90.6%
85242894
1940D
+95.0%
93524959
1936D
+98.8%
1,717101,727
1932D
+97.9%
8148823
1928D
+88.8%
79347840
1924D
+87.4%
54135579
1920D
+52.5%
405124535
1916D
+89.9%
71838756
1912D
+87.1%
48918541
1908
No data
1904
No data
1900D
+80.7%
62164690
1896D
+69.5%
636113753
1892D
+66.6%
42362542
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
3.8%
African American
27.6%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
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
Baptist
55.4%
Other Christian
13.3%
Methodist
5.2%
Mainline Protestant
0.5%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 25.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Benton County sits in Mississippi's northeast corner with a population just over 8,000, and its presidential margins have shifted steadily rightward over the past two decades, reaching R+31.4 in 2024.

The 2016 election was the turning point, when the Republican candidate carried the county by thirteen points. The 2024 margin was thirty-one points, in line with the county's new direction.

The demographics suggest why. A population of 7,589, a 61% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $46,016 situate the county in the broader realignment patterns of recent cycles. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Mississippi County and St. Landry Parish.