| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | D | 2,359 | 1,476 | 3,887 | |
| 2020 | D | 2,525 | 1,487 | 4,058 | |
| 2016 | D | 2,519 | 1,421 | 4,061 | |
| 2012 | D | 2,833 | 1,496 | 4,360 | |
| 2008 | D | 2,819 | 1,576 | 4,427 | |
| 2004 | D | 1,910 | 1,613 | 3,536 | |
| 2000 | D | 1,763 | 1,393 | 3,191 | |
| 1996 | D | 1,962 | 1,200 | 3,385 | |
| 1992 | D | 1,696 | 1,347 | 3,339 | |
| 1988 | D | 1,630 | 1,557 | 3,210 | |
| 1984 | R | 1,537 | 1,561 | 3,130 | |
| 1980 | D | 1,324 | 1,045 | 2,456 | |
| 1976 | R | 1,116 | 1,127 | 2,290 | |
| 1972 | R | 2,274 | 5,063 | 7,475 | |
| 1968 | R | 792 | 951 | 2,256 | |
| 1964 | D | 2,371 | 1,329 | 3,707 | |
| 1960 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1956 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1952 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1948 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1944 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1940 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1936 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1932 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1928 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1924 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1920 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1916 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1912 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1908 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1904 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1900 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1896 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1892 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Franklin City, a small independent city in Virginia's Coastal Plain, votes Democratic by wide margins—its 2024 presidential result of D+22.8 reflects a majority-Black electorate that has anchored the city's partisan lean for decades.
The Democratic margin in Franklin city peaked at thirty-one points in 2012. By 1988 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was twenty-three points, the most Democratic-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Franklin city's median household income of $63,245 sits well below state and national norms, and 19% 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 Kemper County and Sharkey County.