| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 5,911 | 17,520 | 23,655 | |
| 2020 | R | 5,832 | 16,883 | 23,003 | |
| 2016 | R | 4,667 | 14,568 | 19,875 | |
| 2012 | R | 6,031 | 11,775 | 18,099 | |
| 2008 | R | 6,571 | 11,534 | 18,386 | |
| 2004 | R | 5,330 | 10,590 | 16,002 | |
| 2000 | D | 9,109 | 4,747 | 14,011 | |
| 1996 | R | 4,553 | 6,407 | 12,278 | |
| 1992 | R | 5,309 | 6,090 | 13,295 | |
| 1988 | R | 4,449 | 6,526 | 10,997 | |
| 1984 | R | 4,076 | 7,639 | 11,736 | |
| 1980 | R | 4,703 | 5,680 | 10,606 | |
| 1976 | D | 6,246 | 4,450 | 10,746 | |
| 1972 | R | 2,348 | 6,570 | 9,114 | |
| 1968 | R | 2,543 | 4,740 | 10,301 | |
| 1964 | D | 6,314 | 4,174 | 10,488 | |
| 1960 | R | 4,889 | 6,148 | 11,037 | |
| 1956 | R | 4,392 | 5,468 | 9,860 | |
| 1952 | D | 4,755 | 4,710 | 9,465 | |
| 1948 | D | 3,805 | 2,709 | 7,152 | |
| 1944 | D | 4,008 | 2,258 | 6,266 | |
| 1940 | D | 5,290 | 2,216 | 7,506 | |
| 1936 | D | 5,352 | 3,114 | 8,466 | |
| 1932 | D | 4,810 | 2,478 | 7,323 | |
| 1928 | D | 3,430 | 3,423 | 6,853 | |
| 1924 | D | 3,023 | 2,590 | 5,638 | |
| 1920 | D | 2,809 | 2,561 | 5,370 | |
| 1916 | D | 1,274 | 1,218 | 2,494 | |
| 1912 | D | 1,037 | 343 | 2,163 | |
| 1908 | R | 950 | 1,000 | 1,954 | |
| 1904 | R | 836 | 931 | 1,792 | |
| 1900 | R | 1,014 | 1,024 | 2,055 | |
| 1896 | D | 1,204 | 950 | 2,158 | |
| 1892 | D | 1,055 | 727 | 1,862 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Nestled in the Blue Ridge foothills west of Morganton, McDowell County delivered a 49-point Republican presidential margin in 2024, reflecting the broader rural Appalachian shift that has reshaped western North Carolina's electoral map over the past two decades.
The Democratic margin in McDowell County peaked at forty-one points in 1940. By 2004 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was forty-nine points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. McDowell County's median household income of $57,168 sits well below state and national norms, and 15% 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 Surry County and Tripp County.