| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 67 | 440 | 515 | |
| 2020 | R | 78 | 414 | 503 | |
| 2016 | R | 71 | 365 | 474 | |
| 2012 | R | 110 | 351 | 479 | |
| 2008 | R | 124 | 343 | 491 | |
| 2004 | R | 119 | 396 | 522 | |
| 2000 | R | 88 | 405 | 531 | |
| 1996 | R | 128 | 284 | 488 | |
| 1992 | R | 142 | 192 | 496 | |
| 1988 | R | 203 | 335 | 543 | |
| 1984 | R | 211 | 384 | 600 | |
| 1980 | R | 155 | 362 | 556 | |
| 1976 | R | 255 | 302 | 569 | |
| 1972 | R | 170 | 359 | 553 | |
| 1968 | R | 194 | 332 | 553 | |
| 1964 | D | 352 | 252 | 604 | |
| 1960 | R | 277 | 362 | 639 | |
| 1956 | R | 256 | 383 | 639 | |
| 1952 | R | 198 | 471 | 669 | |
| 1948 | R | 295 | 352 | 663 | |
| 1944 | R | 266 | 395 | 662 | |
| 1940 | R | 351 | 402 | 759 | |
| 1936 | D | 474 | 331 | 821 | |
| 1932 | D | 469 | 423 | 912 | |
| 1928 | R | 346 | 625 | 978 | |
| 1924 | R | 118 | 422 | 1,114 | |
| 1920 | R | 381 | 1,185 | 1,633 | |
| 1916 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1912 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1908 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1904 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1900 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1896 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1892 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Golden Valley's roughly 1,000 residents make it among the smallest counties in Montana by population, and its 2024 presidential margin of R+72.4 ranks it among the most lopsided in the state.
The Democratic margin in Golden Valley County peaked at seventeen points in 1936. By 1968 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was seventy-two points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Golden Valley County's median household income of $58,333 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 Idaho County and Judith Basin County.