A century of presidential elections in Monroe County
MONROE COUNTY — The upcoming presidential election is a neck-and-neck race so far, with Vice President Kamala Harris narrowly ahead in the polls at 49%, while former President Donald Trump is ahead at 46%, according to 270toWin.
The results of recent elections suggest that Monroe County has voted in favor of Trump, but that is only true for the last two elections. The county has seen an interesting trend over the last century: while citizens have voted Republican in most elections, there have been several instances where the county has voted Democratic, in some cases overwhelmingly.
100 years of presidential election in Monroe County
Below are the percentages of the vote awarded to Republican, Democratic and Independent candidates in Monroe County over the past 100 years (according to the Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections).
1924
Democrat John Davis: 32.38%
Republican Calvin Coolidge: 58.12%
1928
Democrat Alfred Smith: 41.37%
Republican Herbert Hoover 58.27%
1932
Democrat Franklin Roosevelt: 62.05%
Republican Herbert Hoover: 36.26%
1936
Democrat Franklin Roosevelt: 52.03%
Republican Alfred Landon: 39.14%
1940
Democrat Franklin Roosevelt: 43.30%
Republican Thomas Dewey: 56.54%
1944
Democrat Franklin Roosevelt: 43.11%
Republican Thomas Dewey: 56.54%
1948
Democrat Harry Truman: 47.81%
Republican Thomas Dewey: 50.72%
This year marks the second time that the majority of the district has voted for Republican candidate Thomas Dewey. Why is unknown. Perhaps it was because of his time as New York City’s district attorney fighting the Mafia. Or perhaps it’s simply because he was born and raised in Michigan.
1952
Democrat Adlai Stevenson: 42.42%
Republican Dwight Eisenhower: 57.06%
1956
Democrat Adlai Stevenson: 43.28%
Republican Dwight Eisenhower: 56.39%
1960
Democrat John F. Kennedy: 51.23%
Republican Richard Nixon: 48.43%
1964
Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson: 69.61%
Republican Richard Nixon: 39.64%
This is one of those extraordinary election years in which the majority of Monroe County residents voted for the Democrats and Johnson was the most voted Democrat in the last 100 years.
1968
Democrat Hubert Humphrey: 47.81%
Republican Richard Nixon: 39.64%
1972
Democrat George McGovern: 41.73%
Republican Richard Nixon: 54.76%
Interestingly, this was Nixon’s third election appearance this year and the only time he won a majority in Monroe County.
1976
Democrat Jimmy Carter: 52.22%
Republican Gerald Ford: 46.36%
1980
Democrat Jimmy Carter: 41.19%
Republican Ronald Reagan: 51.26%
1984
Democrat Walter Mondale: 39.80%
Republican Ronald Reagan: 59.69%
1988
Democrat Michael Dukakis: 45.21%
Republican George HW Bush: 54.19%
1992
Democrat Bill Clinton: 42.28%
Republican George HW Bush: 34.30%
Independent: H. Ross Perot: 22.96%
Perot is mentioned because his votes represent the highest percentage of independent votes in the county in the last century.
1996
Democrat Bill Clinton: 49.63%
Republican Bob Dole: 37.46%
2000
Democrat Al Gore: 51.05%
Republican George W. Bush: 46.83%
2004
Democrat John Kerry: 48.68%
Republican George W. Bush: 50.54%
2008
Democrat Barack Obama: 51.13%
Republican John McCain: 46.79%
2012
Democrat Barack Obama: 49.68%
Republican Mitt Romney: 48.69%
2016
Democrat Hillary Clinton: 35.98%
Donald Trump: 57.95%
2020
Democrat Joe Biden: 37.78%
Republican Donald Trump: 60.39%
— Contact reporter Connor Veenstra at [email protected]
