| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 1,423 | 7,843 | 9,338 | |
| 2020 | R | 1,439 | 7,465 | 9,063 | |
| 2016 | R | 1,329 | 6,599 | 8,302 | |
| 2012 | R | 1,920 | 5,694 | 7,817 | |
| 2008 | R | 2,454 | 5,499 | 8,135 | |
| 2004 | R | 2,215 | 5,443 | 7,725 | |
| 2000 | R | 1,866 | 4,460 | 6,529 | |
| 1996 | R | 1,980 | 3,008 | 5,973 | |
| 1992 | R | 2,281 | 3,010 | 6,875 | |
| 1988 | R | 2,299 | 3,812 | 6,153 | |
| 1984 | R | 2,109 | 4,521 | 6,630 | |
| 1980 | R | 2,485 | 4,114 | 6,783 | |
| 1976 | D | 3,111 | 2,949 | 6,108 | |
| 1972 | R | 1,787 | 4,339 | 6,126 | |
| 1968 | R | 2,188 | 3,025 | 5,894 | |
| 1964 | D | 3,488 | 3,055 | 6,543 | |
| 1960 | R | 2,496 | 3,955 | 6,451 | |
| 1956 | R | 2,757 | 3,646 | 6,403 | |
| 1952 | R | 2,525 | 4,121 | 6,657 | |
| 1948 | R | 2,925 | 2,979 | 5,915 | |
| 1944 | R | 2,523 | 3,520 | 6,056 | |
| 1940 | R | 3,312 | 4,063 | 7,394 | |
| 1936 | D | 3,503 | 3,312 | 6,819 | |
| 1932 | D | 3,943 | 2,464 | 6,465 | |
| 1928 | R | 1,986 | 3,684 | 5,686 | |
| 1924 | R | 2,301 | 2,374 | 4,916 | |
| 1920 | R | 2,242 | 2,921 | 5,291 | |
| 1916 | D | 1,631 | 1,414 | 3,171 | |
| 1912 | D | 1,326 | 916 | 2,879 | |
| 1908 | R | 1,306 | 1,333 | 2,749 | |
| 1904 | D | 1,269 | 1,266 | 2,685 | |
| 1900 | D | 1,469 | 1,138 | 2,684 | |
| 1896 | D | 1,676 | 998 | 2,687 | |
| 1892 | D | 1,026 | 835 | 2,200 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Tucked into Missouri's southwest corner where the Ozarks meet Oklahoma and Arkansas, McDonald County recorded an R+68.8 presidential margin in 2024, placing it among the most one-sided rural counties in the state.
The Democratic margin in McDonald County peaked at twenty-five points in 1896. By 1980 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was sixty-nine points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. McDonald County's median household income of $52,375 sits well below state and national norms, and 17% 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 Jefferson County and Wright County.