| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 12,813 | 32,508 | 45,817 | |
| 2020 | R | 12,093 | 30,028 | 42,695 | |
| 2016 | R | 9,939 | 26,569 | 37,781 | |
| 2012 | R | 10,301 | 24,775 | 35,517 | |
| 2008 | R | 11,130 | 23,131 | 34,597 | |
| 2004 | R | 7,732 | 17,716 | 25,575 | |
| 2000 | D | 17,381 | 8,839 | 26,461 | |
| 1996 | R | 7,566 | 11,721 | 20,876 | |
| 1992 | R | 8,028 | 10,334 | 21,819 | |
| 1988 | R | 6,859 | 11,076 | 17,994 | |
| 1984 | R | 5,882 | 11,637 | 17,557 | |
| 1980 | R | 6,485 | 7,733 | 14,767 | |
| 1976 | D | 7,080 | 5,786 | 12,939 | |
| 1972 | R | 2,805 | 8,463 | 11,415 | |
| 1968 | R | 3,762 | 4,593 | 11,416 | |
| 1964 | D | 6,231 | 4,289 | 10,520 | |
| 1960 | D | 5,264 | 4,493 | 9,757 | |
| 1956 | D | 3,875 | 3,804 | 7,679 | |
| 1952 | D | 4,280 | 2,967 | 7,247 | |
| 1948 | D | 3,491 | 1,520 | 5,160 | |
| 1944 | D | 3,489 | 1,566 | 5,055 | |
| 1940 | D | 3,896 | 1,789 | 5,685 | |
| 1936 | D | 3,780 | 1,889 | 5,669 | |
| 1932 | D | 3,455 | 1,765 | 5,275 | |
| 1928 | R | 2,045 | 3,133 | 5,178 | |
| 1924 | D | 2,261 | 1,854 | 4,130 | |
| 1920 | R | 2,070 | 2,315 | 4,385 | |
| 1916 | R | 1,165 | 1,246 | 2,411 | |
| 1912 | D | 1,153 | 218 | 1,908 | |
| 1908 | D | 1,152 | 1,060 | 2,212 | |
| 1904 | D | 1,012 | 656 | 1,668 | |
| 1900 | D | 1,046 | 767 | 1,817 | |
| 1896 | D | 1,308 | 943 | 2,257 | |
| 1892 | D | 1,211 | 613 | 2,036 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Carteret's economy revolves around commercial fishing, military installations near Morehead City, and coastal tourism — a combination that has produced some of North Carolina's most consistent Republican supermajority margins over the past two decades.
The shift began with civil rights. 2004 marked the realignment in Carteret County, by a thirty-nine points margin. The Republican margin reached its widest at fifty points in 1972. The 2024 margin was forty-three points.
The political shift has tracked, in Carteret County, the political shift of the South more broadly. A 86% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $72,322, and a 10% poverty rate describe the demographic context. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Stanly County and Lincoln County.