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

Wilkinson County changed its political identity.

A majority-Black rural county that tilts decisively Democratic in presidential races

18762024·38 elections
Wilkinson County, Mississippi · Natalie Maynor · Wikimedia Commons
Latest
D+25
in 2024
Archetype
Realigner
since the recent cycles
Population
8,162
2024 ACS
Most similar
Presidio County
TX · similarity 1.00
9 precincts · 2,931 votes cast
Harris · D+25
Margin
Turnout
Harris +50
Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
2024D
+25.3%
1,8171,0752,931
2020D
+34.5%
2,7491,3244,127
2016D
+36.5%
2,8571,3184,218
2012D
+41.1%
3,4121,4154,853
2008D
+38.4%
3,5341,5605,139
2004D
+28.1%
2,7941,5634,385
2000D
+27.5%
2,5511,4234,098
1996D
+43.7%
2,8071,0164,102
1992D
+36.6%
3,2101,3994,945
1988D
+27.2%
2,6781,5284,223
1984D
+20.6%
2,6271,7224,384
1980D
+34.2%
2,9811,4424,500
1976D
+32.3%
2,5141,2733,845
1972R
−6.5%
1,4091,6083,054
1968D
+47.8%
2,1442723,919
1964R
−86.9%
1031,4731,576
1960D
+3.4%
2161741,222
1956D
+2.4%
260240851
1952R
−10.8%
5636991,262
1948D
+2.5%
4321874
1944D
+83.0%
86380943
1940D
+90.7%
94246988
1936D
+94.4%
76721790
1932D
+95.3%
81318834
1928D
+82.6%
76773840
1924D
+79.7%
35540395
1920D
+92.6%
41615433
1916D
+95.8%
4608472
1912D
+89.0%
3798417
1908
No data
1904
No data
1900D
+87.1%
48231518
1896D
+87.5%
56136600
1892D
+91.3%
2586276
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
8.4%
African American
53.8%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
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
26.4%
Other Christian
12.9%
Methodist
9.8%
Mainline Protestant
2.8%
Catholic & Orthodox
1.1%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 47.0% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Wilkinson County, tucked into Mississippi's southwestern corner along the Louisiana border, is among the state's most reliably Democratic counties, driven by a majority African American population in a state that otherwise votes heavily Republican at the federal level.

The unraveling was not abrupt. The Democratic margin in Wilkinson County peaked at ninety-six points in 1916; it narrowed steadily over the late twentieth century. The 1976 election delivered the county to the Republican party for the first time in many years, by a margin of thirty-two points. By 2024, the margin had settled into deep Republican territory.

The economic and demographic context is severe. Wilkinson County's median household income of $35,311 is among the lowest of any county in the United States; 27% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Presidio County and Sumter County.