| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 7,194 | 28,812 | 36,320 | |
| 2020 | R | 7,511 | 27,592 | 35,466 | |
| 2016 | R | 6,638 | 23,752 | 31,296 | |
| 2012 | R | 8,148 | 20,515 | 29,145 | |
| 2008 | R | 8,934 | 20,288 | 29,724 | |
| 2004 | R | 7,862 | 19,197 | 27,154 | |
| 2000 | D | 16,826 | 7,226 | 24,323 | |
| 1996 | R | 6,793 | 12,395 | 21,228 | |
| 1992 | R | 7,991 | 12,547 | 23,868 | |
| 1988 | R | 7,230 | 15,231 | 22,514 | |
| 1984 | R | 6,852 | 18,670 | 25,564 | |
| 1980 | R | 8,184 | 14,462 | 23,049 | |
| 1976 | R | 10,176 | 11,768 | 22,024 | |
| 1972 | R | 4,634 | 13,105 | 17,994 | |
| 1968 | R | 4,497 | 11,195 | 18,568 | |
| 1964 | R | 9,176 | 11,014 | 20,190 | |
| 1960 | R | 7,986 | 13,016 | 21,002 | |
| 1956 | R | 5,870 | 11,544 | 17,414 | |
| 1952 | R | 7,143 | 11,446 | 18,589 | |
| 1948 | R | 5,784 | 8,234 | 14,400 | |
| 1944 | R | 5,587 | 9,121 | 14,708 | |
| 1940 | R | 7,299 | 8,446 | 15,745 | |
| 1936 | R | 6,506 | 8,358 | 14,864 | |
| 1932 | R | 5,598 | 6,522 | 12,159 | |
| 1928 | R | 2,802 | 7,808 | 10,610 | |
| 1924 | R | 3,586 | 6,131 | 9,728 | |
| 1920 | R | 2,843 | 6,451 | 9,294 | |
| 1916 | R | 1,632 | 3,470 | 5,102 | |
| 1912 | D | 1,636 | 331 | 4,538 | |
| 1908 | R | 1,559 | 3,382 | 4,949 | |
| 1904 | R | 1,318 | 2,470 | 3,788 | |
| 1900 | R | 1,704 | 2,840 | 4,546 | |
| 1896 | R | 1,801 | 2,835 | 4,642 | |
| 1892 | R | 1,770 | 1,895 | 3,810 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Wilkes County, nestled in the Blue Ridge foothills, recorded an R+59.5 margin in 2024, placing it among the state's most consistently one-sided presidential jurisdictions. Its rural, majority-white population has shifted steadily rightward over the past two decades.
The Democratic margin in Wilkes County peaked at thirty-nine points in 2000. By 2004 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was sixty points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Wilkes County's median household income of $51,721 sits well below state and national norms, and 17% 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 Caldwell County and Stanly County.