| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 1,971 | 11,463 | 13,534 | |
| 2020 | R | 2,202 | 10,604 | 12,945 | |
| 2016 | R | 1,832 | 8,602 | 10,740 | |
| 2012 | R | 2,433 | 7,617 | 10,178 | |
| 2008 | R | 3,078 | 7,175 | 10,420 | |
| 2004 | R | 4,034 | 6,448 | 10,540 | |
| 2000 | R | 3,841 | 5,023 | 9,000 | |
| 1996 | R | 3,861 | 4,023 | 8,679 | |
| 1992 | D | 4,509 | 4,065 | 9,485 | |
| 1988 | R | 2,977 | 4,071 | 7,082 | |
| 1984 | R | 2,870 | 4,474 | 7,371 | |
| 1980 | R | 2,844 | 4,289 | 7,263 | |
| 1976 | D | 3,461 | 3,227 | 6,743 | |
| 1972 | R | 1,230 | 3,632 | 4,912 | |
| 1968 | R | 1,314 | 3,101 | 5,190 | |
| 1964 | R | 2,581 | 2,852 | 5,433 | |
| 1960 | R | 2,142 | 3,888 | 6,056 | |
| 1956 | R | 1,973 | 3,377 | 5,428 | |
| 1952 | R | 2,182 | 3,221 | 5,403 | |
| 1948 | R | 2,068 | 2,507 | 4,686 | |
| 1944 | R | 1,649 | 2,426 | 4,098 | |
| 1940 | R | 2,792 | 2,879 | 5,764 | |
| 1936 | D | 3,036 | 2,400 | 5,450 | |
| 1932 | D | 3,518 | 1,725 | 5,265 | |
| 1928 | R | 1,225 | 2,565 | 3,790 | |
| 1924 | R | 1,091 | 1,775 | 2,960 | |
| 1920 | R | 1,236 | 2,612 | 3,848 | |
| 1916 | R | 1,053 | 1,398 | 2,470 | |
| 1912 | D | 903 | 589 | 2,609 | |
| 1908 | R | 971 | 1,637 | 2,627 | |
| 1904 | R | 959 | 993 | 1,969 | |
| 1900 | R | 770 | 987 | 1,763 | |
| 1896 | R | 1,152 | 2,230 | 3,398 | |
| 1892 | R | 986 | 1,437 | 2,577 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Claiborne County sits in the ridge-and-valley terrain of northeastern Tennessee, where coal and tobacco heritage shaped a rural white working-class electorate that has delivered Republican presidential margins above 60 points in each of the last three cycles.
The Democratic margin in Claiborne County peaked at thirty-four points in 1932. By 1996 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was seventy points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Claiborne County's median household income of $49,379 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 Hardin County and Union County.