akashic
1876–2024
Phillips County, Montana
Phillips County·Montana

Phillips County was solidly one party for decades. In the last twenty years, it flipped.

One of Montana's most lopsided presidential counties in 2024

18762024·38 elections
Phillips County, Montana · J.B. Chandler · Wikimedia Commons
Latest
R+62
in 2024
Archetype
Populist
since the recent cycles
Population
4,221
2024 ACS
Most similar
Lincoln County
WA · similarity 1.00
4 precincts · 2,189 votes cast
Trump · R+62
Margin
Turnout
Harris +50
Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
2024R
−62.5%
3851,7532,189
2020R
−63.8%
4161,9362,382
2016R
−64.7%
3181,7232,171
2012R
−54.6%
4711,6882,228
2008R
−37.0%
6381,4232,123
2004R
−56.3%
4561,6772,170
2000R
−58.5%
4231,7272,228
1996R
−27.4%
7051,3922,511
1992R
−14.9%
6341,0262,625
1988R
−23.0%
9051,4622,426
1984R
−41.7%
7871,9342,749
1980R
−36.9%
7451,7232,653
1976R
−9.3%
1,1171,3472,486
1972R
−32.5%
8281,6592,557
1968R
−9.6%
1,1001,3532,632
1964D
+13.0%
1,6121,2422,857
1960R
−0.1%
1,4551,4572,925
1956R
−5.9%
1,4271,6053,032
1952R
−18.1%
1,2241,7713,017
1948D
+21.1%
1,5069642,569
1944D
+13.6%
1,4351,0892,543
1940D
+33.1%
2,2251,1103,366
1936D
+48.8%
2,5558503,494
1932D
+27.9%
2,0541,1273,324
1928R
−19.0%
1,1351,6712,828
1924R
−28.8%
4731,2362,647
1920R
−41.4%
6481,6932,522
1916D
+10.7%
1,2529992,355
1912
No data
1908
No data
1904
No data
1900
No data
1896
No data
1892
No data
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%
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
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
Mainline Protestant
15.4%
Other Christian
13.8%
Catholic & Orthodox
7.2%
Pentecostal & Holiness
3.0%
Baptist
0.2%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 60.4% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Phillips County's vast Hi-Line rangelands and a population under 5,000 produce some of the most consistent Republican margins in the state, with the 2024 presidential race decided by more than 62 points.

The Democratic margin in Phillips County peaked at forty-nine points in 1936. By 1968 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was sixty-two points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.

The economic context is the key. Phillips County's median household income of $53,417 sits well below state and national norms, and 11% 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 Lincoln County and Judith Basin County.