| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | D | 59,941 | 24,377 | 86,009 | |
| 2020 | D | 64,440 | 23,443 | 89,881 | |
| 2016 | D | 57,023 | 21,552 | 83,385 | |
| 2012 | D | 62,687 | 23,147 | 87,043 | |
| 2008 | D | 62,819 | 24,814 | 88,446 | |
| 2004 | D | 43,518 | 26,401 | 70,570 | |
| 2000 | D | 38,221 | 21,920 | 61,946 | |
| 1996 | D | 37,655 | 18,693 | 60,124 | |
| 1992 | D | 37,602 | 22,362 | 69,027 | |
| 1988 | D | 37,778 | 30,538 | 68,891 | |
| 1984 | D | 38,913 | 36,360 | 75,516 | |
| 1980 | D | 35,118 | 27,506 | 67,200 | |
| 1976 | D | 39,295 | 28,099 | 70,402 | |
| 1972 | R | 25,737 | 38,385 | 66,217 | |
| 1968 | D | 28,477 | 22,302 | 65,829 | |
| 1964 | D | 32,388 | 18,429 | 51,546 | |
| 1960 | D | 22,037 | 17,174 | 39,473 | |
| 1956 | R | 20,597 | 23,208 | 45,445 | |
| 1952 | R | 18,628 | 19,780 | 38,466 | |
| 1948 | D | 14,066 | 9,386 | 25,549 | |
| 1944 | D | 17,477 | 6,485 | 24,007 | |
| 1940 | D | 14,604 | 4,124 | 18,779 | |
| 1936 | D | 14,295 | 3,881 | 18,255 | |
| 1932 | D | 11,740 | 5,475 | 17,526 | |
| 1928 | R | 7,306 | 10,314 | 17,620 | |
| 1924 | D | 5,061 | 2,447 | 7,924 | |
| 1920 | D | 5,953 | 2,386 | 8,417 | |
| 1916 | D | 3,234 | 963 | 4,292 | |
| 1912 | D | 3,539 | 195 | 4,228 | |
| 1908 | D | 2,271 | 991 | 3,292 | |
| 1904 | D | 2,559 | 457 | 3,076 | |
| 1900 | D | 3,883 | 2,301 | 6,246 | |
| 1896 | D | 3,068 | 1,995 | 5,229 | |
| 1892 | D | 495 | 219 | 766 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Home to the largest U.S. naval installation in the world, Norfolk combines a majority-minority population with a heavy military footprint, producing lopsided Democratic margins while remaining one of the state's most economically and demographically complex independent cities.
The Democratic margin in Norfolk city peaked at seventy-nine points in 1912. By 1976 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was forty-one points, the most Democratic-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Norfolk city's median household income of $66,109 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 Portsmouth city and Dallas County.
