| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 2,183 | 6,708 | 9,065 | |
| 2020 | R | 2,315 | 6,906 | 9,403 | |
| 2016 | R | 2,139 | 6,430 | 9,121 | |
| 2012 | R | 3,650 | 5,271 | 9,111 | |
| 2008 | R | 4,141 | 5,161 | 9,469 | |
| 2004 | R | 3,975 | 5,837 | 9,899 | |
| 2000 | R | 4,256 | 5,134 | 9,691 | |
| 1996 | D | 4,001 | 3,961 | 9,178 | |
| 1992 | D | 4,213 | 3,714 | 10,069 | |
| 1988 | D | 4,740 | 4,568 | 9,378 | |
| 1984 | R | 3,713 | 6,251 | 10,001 | |
| 1980 | R | 3,522 | 6,597 | 10,585 | |
| 1976 | R | 4,730 | 6,043 | 10,881 | |
| 1972 | R | 3,592 | 7,519 | 11,129 | |
| 1968 | R | 3,720 | 6,866 | 11,397 | |
| 1964 | D | 6,199 | 5,557 | 11,756 | |
| 1960 | R | 4,947 | 8,036 | 12,990 | |
| 1956 | R | 4,854 | 8,431 | 13,297 | |
| 1952 | R | 4,681 | 9,181 | 13,881 | |
| 1948 | R | 5,559 | 7,098 | 12,779 | |
| 1944 | R | 5,338 | 7,972 | 13,378 | |
| 1940 | R | 6,688 | 9,108 | 15,961 | |
| 1936 | D | 7,726 | 7,383 | 15,507 | |
| 1932 | D | 8,808 | 4,789 | 13,734 | |
| 1928 | R | 5,447 | 7,795 | 13,290 | |
| 1924 | R | 5,189 | 6,678 | 12,885 | |
| 1920 | R | 5,125 | 7,379 | 12,778 | |
| 1916 | D | 7,711 | 6,472 | 14,716 | |
| 1912 | D | 3,692 | 1,577 | 7,566 | |
| 1908 | D | 4,260 | 3,781 | 8,315 | |
| 1904 | R | 3,456 | 3,887 | 7,858 | |
| 1900 | D | 4,657 | 3,907 | 8,741 | |
| 1896 | D | 4,581 | 4,250 | 9,008 | |
| 1892 | D | 4,132 | 3,393 | 8,120 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Hancock County's 2024 presidential margin of nearly 50 points Republican reflects a broader shift in Illinois's western Mississippi River bluffs, where small-town and agricultural communities have moved sharply away from statewide Democratic voting patterns over the past two decades.
The Democratic margin in Hancock County peaked at twenty-nine points in 1932. By 2000 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was fifty points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Hancock County's median household income of $65,865 sits well below state and national norms, and 12% 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 Van Buren County and Taylor County.