| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 6,754 | 7,767 | 14,626 | |
| 2020 | R | 7,186 | 7,473 | 14,775 | |
| 2016 | D | 7,319 | 6,256 | 13,928 | |
| 2012 | D | 8,215 | 5,831 | 14,156 | |
| 2008 | D | 8,151 | 6,005 | 14,217 | |
| 2004 | D | 6,386 | 5,141 | 11,547 | |
| 2000 | R | 3,740 | 5,627 | 9,403 | |
| 1996 | D | 4,870 | 2,858 | 8,299 | |
| 1992 | D | 5,175 | 2,980 | 9,360 | |
| 1988 | D | 3,865 | 3,199 | 7,084 | |
| 1984 | R | 4,028 | 4,077 | 8,117 | |
| 1980 | D | 4,446 | 2,133 | 6,782 | |
| 1976 | D | 4,430 | 1,932 | 6,384 | |
| 1972 | R | 1,938 | 3,485 | 5,472 | |
| 1968 | D | 2,252 | 1,717 | 5,985 | |
| 1964 | D | 3,844 | 1,229 | 5,073 | |
| 1960 | D | 3,643 | 1,279 | 4,922 | |
| 1956 | D | 3,042 | 1,171 | 4,213 | |
| 1952 | D | 2,912 | 1,590 | 4,502 | |
| 1948 | D | 1,957 | 359 | 2,819 | |
| 1944 | D | 2,372 | 303 | 2,675 | |
| 1940 | D | 2,981 | 250 | 3,231 | |
| 1936 | D | 3,183 | 314 | 3,497 | |
| 1932 | D | 2,608 | 208 | 2,822 | |
| 1928 | D | 1,761 | 588 | 2,349 | |
| 1924 | D | 1,469 | 205 | 1,685 | |
| 1920 | D | 1,705 | 306 | 2,011 | |
| 1916 | D | 938 | 137 | 1,075 | |
| 1912 | D | 751 | 9 | 835 | |
| 1908 | D | 714 | 85 | 799 | |
| 1904 | D | 646 | 65 | 711 | |
| 1900 | D | 925 | 44 | 971 | |
| 1896 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1892 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Scotland County sits in North Carolina's Sandhills region with a population that is roughly 40% Black, making its electoral shifts a closely watched signal of rural coalition change in a perennial battleground state.
The county's recent history is a story of close margins. The Democratic margin reached ninety-one points in 1900; the Republican margin reached twenty-eight points in 1972. Most other elections have been decided by single-digit points.
Scotland County's demographics — a population of 33,590, a 41% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $45,730 — situate the county close to national averages on several dimensions. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Anson County and Pasquotank County.