akashic
1876–2024
Wharton County, Texas
Wharton County·Texas

Wharton County voted Democratic for a century. The shift began with civil rights.

A Gulf Coast prairie county where Republicans routinely clear 70% of the vote

18762024·38 elections
Wharton County, Texas · Larry D. Moore · Wikimedia Commons
Latest
R+52
in 2024
Archetype
Old Confederacy
since the recent cycles
Population
41,794
2024 ACS
Most similar
Cherokee County
TX · similarity 1.00
12 precincts · 16,471 votes cast
Trump · R+52
Margin
Turnout
Harris +50
Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
2024R
−51.8%
3,91012,43916,471
2020R
−43.1%
4,69411,92616,776
2016R
−40.1%
4,23810,14914,732
2012R
−39.1%
4,2359,75014,087
2008R
−31.2%
4,9379,43114,418
2004R
−32.7%
4,7029,28814,039
2000R
−26.9%
4,8388,45513,426
1996R
−8.1%
5,1766,16312,234
1992R
−6.7%
4,6435,50312,797
1988R
−8.0%
5,9356,97812,991
1984R
−25.2%
5,0728,49513,584
1980R
−12.2%
5,1386,59811,958
1976D
+11.6%
5,9144,68210,644
1972R
−28.6%
3,4816,2719,757
1968D
+5.3%
4,3043,7739,959
1964D
+38.3%
6,2342,7759,020
1960D
+19.1%
5,0043,3878,458
1956R
−15.5%
3,4394,7148,203
1952R
−13.1%
4,0225,2329,259
1948D
+31.1%
2,8111,3544,685
1944D
+64.0%
3,7545295,042
1940D
+67.8%
3,9767604,740
1936D
+81.3%
3,0343073,355
1932D
+77.8%
3,3574053,792
1928D
+14.6%
1,5451,1512,696
1924D
+38.9%
2,0208582,989
1920R
−0.7%
8368522,363
1916D
+42.6%
9483511,401
1912D
+55.2%
7931091,240
1908
No data
1904
No data
1900
No data
1896
No data
1892
No data
1888
No data
1884
No data
1880
No data
1876
No data
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
100.0%
African American
9.1%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
0.0%
speak English only
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Catholic & Orthodox
35.9%
Baptist
14.7%
Other Christian
12.3%
Methodist
4.9%
Mainline Protestant
4.2%
Pentecostal & Holiness
1.4%
Non-Christian
0.1%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 26.5% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Wharton County's flat coastal-plain landscape anchors a cattle and rice economy that has trended heavily toward Republican presidential candidates for decades, with the 2024 margin of R+51.8 reflecting consistent double-digit registration advantages.

The shift began with civil rights. 1980 marked the realignment in Wharton County, by a twelve points margin. The Republican margin reached its widest at fifty-two points in 2024. The 2024 margin was fifty-two points.

The political shift has tracked, in Wharton County, the political shift of the South more broadly. A 57% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $66,924, and a 14% poverty rate describe the demographic context. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Cherokee County and Jackson County.