| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | D | 11,292 | 8,614 | 20,092 | |
| 2020 | D | 12,431 | 8,391 | 20,999 | |
| 2016 | D | 12,229 | 7,332 | 19,977 | |
| 2012 | D | 13,323 | 7,429 | 20,854 | |
| 2008 | D | 13,166 | 7,606 | 20,871 | |
| 2004 | D | 8,762 | 6,884 | 15,677 | |
| 2000 | R | 5,564 | 7,092 | 12,701 | |
| 1996 | D | 6,385 | 4,651 | 11,635 | |
| 1992 | D | 6,598 | 4,747 | 12,800 | |
| 1988 | D | 5,631 | 5,625 | 11,276 | |
| 1984 | R | 5,880 | 6,836 | 12,734 | |
| 1980 | D | 5,415 | 4,217 | 9,774 | |
| 1976 | D | 5,620 | 3,813 | 9,461 | |
| 1972 | R | 3,117 | 6,491 | 9,710 | |
| 1968 | D | 3,852 | 2,252 | 11,348 | |
| 1964 | D | 5,186 | 3,452 | 8,638 | |
| 1960 | D | 5,694 | 2,012 | 7,706 | |
| 1956 | D | 4,922 | 1,955 | 6,877 | |
| 1952 | D | 5,697 | 1,721 | 7,418 | |
| 1948 | D | 3,679 | 549 | 4,627 | |
| 1944 | D | 4,110 | 528 | 4,638 | |
| 1940 | D | 4,252 | 380 | 4,632 | |
| 1936 | D | 4,536 | 315 | 4,851 | |
| 1932 | D | 3,833 | 318 | 4,165 | |
| 1928 | D | 2,395 | 1,449 | 3,844 | |
| 1924 | D | 2,013 | 470 | 2,504 | |
| 1920 | D | 2,461 | 816 | 3,277 | |
| 1916 | D | 1,451 | 558 | 2,009 | |
| 1912 | D | 1,204 | 168 | 1,606 | |
| 1908 | D | 1,121 | 641 | 1,762 | |
| 1904 | D | 1,019 | 443 | 1,468 | |
| 1900 | D | 1,233 | 881 | 2,164 | |
| 1896 | R | 1,465 | 1,745 | 3,215 | |
| 1892 | R | 908 | 1,340 | 3,062 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Vance County, anchored by Henderson, has a population that is roughly 40% Black and has voted Democratic in presidential races by consistent double-digit margins, even as rural North Carolina has trended sharply Republican over the past decade.
The Democratic margin in Vance County peaked at eighty-seven points in 1936. By 2004 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was thirteen points, the most Democratic-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Vance County's median household income of $50,465 sits well below state and national norms, and 20% 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 Halifax County and Edgecombe County.