Otero County, Colorado: Republican loyalist county. In 2024, voted R+26%. Democratic peak: D+60 in 1896.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+26MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- Republican loyalistAkashic typology
- Population
- 18,3212024 5-year
- Median household income
- $54,0372024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 67.2%2024 5-year
- Black
- 1.2%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 42.0%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+60 in 1896MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+51 in 1928MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- Jefferson County, OR · similarity 0.99
2024 results by precinct
2024 precinct map of Otero CountyPrecinct-level 2024 presidential results for Otero County, with each precinct boundary colored by Democratic-vs-Republican margin.
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Margin—
Turnout—
Harris +50Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 3,164 | 5,520 | 8,926 | ||
| R | 3,605 | 5,756 | 9,576 | ||
| R | 2,943 | 4,928 | 8,452 | ||
| R | 3,647 | 4,382 | 8,192 | ||
| R | 3,546 | 4,393 | 8,064 | ||
| R | 3,164 | 4,947 | 8,180 | ||
| R | 2,963 | 4,082 | 7,312 | ||
| D | 3,386 | 3,356 | 7,437 | ||
| D | 3,485 | 3,120 | 8,313 | ||
| R | 3,910 | 4,265 | 8,299 | ||
| R | 3,005 | 5,373 | 8,615 | ||
| R | 3,294 | 4,801 | 8,801 | ||
| R | 4,118 | 4,597 | 8,920 | ||
| R | 2,929 | 6,016 | 9,150 | ||
| R | 3,891 | 4,690 | 9,445 | ||
| D | 5,999 | 3,605 | 9,636 | ||
| R | 4,199 | 6,015 | 10,229 | ||
| R | 3,722 | 5,964 | 9,693 | ||
| R | 3,721 | 6,552 | 10,307 | ||
| D | 8,640 | 4,311 | 13,032 | ||
| R | 3,791 | 5,002 | 8,816 | ||
| R | 4,567 | 5,459 | 10,088 | ||
| D | 5,775 | 3,859 | 9,772 | ||
| D | 5,107 | 3,974 | 9,287 | ||
| R | 1,876 | 5,788 | 7,730 | ||
| R | 1,938 | 4,694 | 7,930 | ||
| R | 2,727 | 3,846 | 6,876 | ||
| D | 3,963 | 2,678 | 6,924 | ||
| D | 2,885 | 1,293 | 6,164 | ||
| D | 3,542 | 3,232 | 7,268 | ||
| R | 2,225 | 2,975 | 5,511 | ||
| D | 2,266 | 1,913 | 4,375 | ||
| D | 2,167 | 524 | 2,739 | ||
| O | 0 | 480 | 1,160 | ||
| — | — | — | — | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
15.6%
English
11.5%
Irish
8.2%
American
4.3%
Italian
3.5%
French
3.1%
Scottish
2.1%
African American
1.0%
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. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 41.8 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$54,037
Otero County ranks in the bottom 25% of US counties.
Otero County$54,037
Colorado$95,470
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
22.1%
Children face higher poverty than working-age adults.
Children under 1835.3%
Working age (18–64)18.7%
Seniors (65+)12.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
84.8%
speak English only
Spanish14.4%
Other Indo-European0.6%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.1%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 62.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
Otero's economy has long centered on agriculture and the former sugar-beet industry, and its sparse, largely Hispanic and Anglo rural population has shifted steadily toward Republican presidential candidates over the past decade, widening margins with each cycle.
The Republican margin in Otero County reached its widest at fifty-one points in 1928. The margin in 2024 was twenty-six points, in line with the county's deep historical pattern.
Its loyalty is rooted in its place. Median household income of $54,037, a 67% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 18,321 together describe a community whose political habits are deeply settled. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Jefferson County and Carbon County.
Most similar counties
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Otero County, Colorado — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://akashic.app/county/08089/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
More republican loyalist counties
Frequently asked questions
How did Otero County, Colorado vote in 2024?
In 2024, Otero County, Colorado voted Republican by 26.4 points (R+26), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 8,926 votes cast, 3,164 went Democratic and 5,520 went Republican.
What is Otero County, Colorado's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Otero County, Colorado as a "Republican loyalist" county based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the county has voted Democratic 11 times, Republican 22 times, and other 1 times.
When did Otero County, Colorado last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Otero County, Colorado voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in Otero County, Colorado?
Otero County, Colorado has a population of 18,321 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Otero County, Colorado?
Median household income in Otero County, Colorado is $54,037 — below the national median of $80,734. The Colorado state median is $95,470.
What is the political history of Otero County, Colorado?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Otero County, Colorado from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 11 went Democratic and 22 went Republican. The county's archetype — "Republican loyalist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.