| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 6,114 | 21,795 | 28,153 | |
| 2020 | R | 5,639 | 18,767 | 24,717 | |
| 2016 | R | 3,797 | 14,638 | 19,204 | |
| 2012 | R | 3,674 | 12,843 | 16,796 | |
| 2008 | R | 4,608 | 12,059 | 16,893 | |
| 2004 | R | 4,147 | 11,456 | 15,742 | |
| 2000 | R | 3,557 | 9,286 | 13,232 | |
| 1996 | R | 4,123 | 5,744 | 11,049 | |
| 1992 | R | 3,638 | 4,272 | 10,807 | |
| 1988 | R | 4,343 | 5,120 | 9,508 | |
| 1984 | R | 2,983 | 5,895 | 8,907 | |
| 1980 | R | 3,711 | 4,033 | 7,933 | |
| 1976 | D | 3,818 | 2,777 | 6,636 | |
| 1972 | R | 1,227 | 3,438 | 4,688 | |
| 1968 | D | 1,876 | 1,459 | 3,978 | |
| 1964 | D | 2,585 | 821 | 3,410 | |
| 1960 | D | 1,770 | 1,189 | 2,976 | |
| 1956 | D | 1,422 | 1,163 | 2,590 | |
| 1952 | D | 1,431 | 1,270 | 2,703 | |
| 1948 | D | 1,955 | 287 | 2,324 | |
| 1944 | D | 1,697 | 228 | 2,112 | |
| 1940 | D | 2,177 | 233 | 2,412 | |
| 1936 | D | 1,583 | 111 | 1,696 | |
| 1932 | D | 1,904 | 144 | 2,050 | |
| 1928 | R | 467 | 936 | 1,404 | |
| 1924 | D | 1,725 | 277 | 2,060 | |
| 1920 | D | 795 | 241 | 1,270 | |
| 1916 | D | 913 | 115 | 1,058 | |
| 1912 | D | 623 | 85 | 825 | |
| 1908 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1904 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1900 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1896 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1892 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Burnet sits in the Texas Hill Country northwest of Austin, where rapid exurban growth has not eroded a deep Republican baseline — the county's 2024 presidential margin of R+55.7 reflects a pattern consistent across the last several cycles.
The unraveling was not abrupt. The Democratic margin in Burnet County peaked at eighty-seven points in 1936; it narrowed steadily over the late twentieth century. The 1980 election delivered the county to the Republican party for the first time in many years, by a margin of four points. By 2024, the margin had widened further.
The economic and demographic context is severe. Burnet County's median household income of $78,732 is among the lowest of any county in the United States; 8% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Shackelford County and Emery County.