| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 3,635 | 7,511 | 11,285 | |
| 2020 | R | 3,688 | 7,516 | 11,352 | |
| 2016 | R | 3,196 | 6,385 | 9,960 | |
| 2012 | R | 3,981 | 5,278 | 9,451 | |
| 2008 | R | 4,486 | 5,045 | 9,717 | |
| 2004 | R | 4,434 | 4,940 | 9,431 | |
| 2000 | D | 4,970 | 3,714 | 8,764 | |
| 1996 | R | 3,956 | 3,973 | 8,684 | |
| 1992 | D | 4,285 | 3,994 | 9,208 | |
| 1988 | R | 3,803 | 4,160 | 8,000 | |
| 1984 | R | 3,651 | 4,296 | 7,961 | |
| 1980 | D | 4,010 | 3,363 | 7,546 | |
| 1976 | D | 3,932 | 2,688 | 6,649 | |
| 1972 | R | 2,278 | 3,106 | 5,440 | |
| 1968 | R | 2,215 | 2,448 | 5,415 | |
| 1964 | D | 3,714 | 2,004 | 5,718 | |
| 1960 | D | 3,310 | 3,284 | 6,594 | |
| 1956 | D | 2,964 | 2,808 | 5,772 | |
| 1952 | D | 3,693 | 2,953 | 6,646 | |
| 1948 | D | 3,481 | 2,282 | 5,832 | |
| 1944 | D | 3,301 | 2,402 | 5,703 | |
| 1940 | D | 3,489 | 2,516 | 6,005 | |
| 1936 | D | 3,603 | 2,691 | 6,294 | |
| 1932 | D | 3,412 | 2,396 | 5,817 | |
| 1928 | R | 2,476 | 2,712 | 5,188 | |
| 1924 | D | 2,592 | 2,156 | 4,769 | |
| 1920 | R | 2,280 | 2,596 | 4,876 | |
| 1916 | D | 1,273 | 1,082 | 2,355 | |
| 1912 | D | 1,112 | 60 | 2,208 | |
| 1908 | D | 978 | 950 | 1,928 | |
| 1904 | D | 1,013 | 864 | 1,877 | |
| 1900 | R | 954 | 1,082 | 2,036 | |
| 1896 | D | 1,056 | 982 | 2,038 | |
| 1892 | D | 927 | 651 | 1,721 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Tucked into the Black Mountains of western North Carolina, Yancey County delivers lopsided Republican presidential margins — R+34.3 in 2024 — in a rugged, rural community where fewer than 18,000 residents live well above 2,000 feet elevation.
The Democratic margin in Yancey County peaked at forty-eight points in 1912. By 2004 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was thirty-four points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Yancey County's median household income of $58,709 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 Bon Homme County and McCook County.