| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 13,272 | 32,130 | 45,847 | |
| 2020 | R | 13,118 | 31,019 | 44,602 | |
| 2016 | R | 11,251 | 26,238 | 38,920 | |
| 2012 | R | 13,701 | 22,267 | 36,544 | |
| 2008 | R | 14,901 | 22,102 | 37,443 | |
| 2004 | R | 11,728 | 18,922 | 30,762 | |
| 2000 | D | 18,466 | 11,924 | 30,658 | |
| 1996 | R | 11,678 | 13,853 | 28,291 | |
| 1992 | R | 12,565 | 13,397 | 30,122 | |
| 1988 | R | 10,848 | 15,933 | 26,819 | |
| 1984 | R | 10,353 | 18,766 | 29,178 | |
| 1980 | R | 11,680 | 12,956 | 25,417 | |
| 1976 | D | 14,254 | 10,070 | 24,431 | |
| 1972 | R | 6,197 | 14,447 | 20,950 | |
| 1968 | R | 5,704 | 11,068 | 22,664 | |
| 1964 | D | 12,815 | 10,081 | 22,896 | |
| 1960 | R | 10,015 | 12,925 | 22,940 | |
| 1956 | R | 7,999 | 11,823 | 19,822 | |
| 1952 | R | 7,732 | 11,113 | 18,845 | |
| 1948 | R | 6,226 | 6,374 | 13,488 | |
| 1944 | D | 6,795 | 5,855 | 12,650 | |
| 1940 | D | 7,242 | 4,889 | 12,131 | |
| 1936 | D | 7,454 | 5,506 | 12,960 | |
| 1932 | D | 5,866 | 4,823 | 10,736 | |
| 1928 | R | 2,881 | 5,108 | 7,989 | |
| 1924 | D | 4,137 | 3,190 | 7,327 | |
| 1920 | R | 3,262 | 3,592 | 6,854 | |
| 1916 | D | 1,621 | 1,474 | 3,095 | |
| 1912 | D | 1,365 | 48 | 2,701 | |
| 1908 | R | 1,310 | 1,358 | 2,668 | |
| 1904 | D | 1,080 | 1,001 | 2,081 | |
| 1900 | D | 1,389 | 1,110 | 2,514 | |
| 1896 | D | 1,550 | 1,385 | 2,968 | |
| 1892 | D | 1,410 | 1,098 | 2,758 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Nestled against the Blue Ridge in western North Carolina, Burke County has shifted decisively toward Republican candidates over the past two decades, with its manufacturing-rooted, majority-white electorate consistently producing some of the state's widest presidential margins.
The Democratic margin in Burke County peaked at forty-nine points in 1912. By 2004 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was forty-one points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Burke County's median household income of $58,592 sits well below state and national norms, and 16% 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 Fall River County and Cleveland County.