| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 1,283 | 4,715 | 6,110 | |
| 2020 | R | 1,419 | 4,886 | 6,422 | |
| 2016 | R | 1,290 | 4,521 | 6,094 | |
| 2012 | R | 2,011 | 3,857 | 5,989 | |
| 2008 | R | 3,016 | 3,403 | 6,536 | |
| 2004 | R | 2,518 | 4,162 | 6,729 | |
| 2000 | R | 2,822 | 3,594 | 6,578 | |
| 1996 | D | 2,871 | 2,568 | 6,392 | |
| 1992 | D | 3,270 | 2,681 | 7,488 | |
| 1988 | R | 3,140 | 3,655 | 6,823 | |
| 1984 | R | 2,924 | 4,686 | 7,638 | |
| 1980 | R | 3,030 | 4,453 | 7,856 | |
| 1976 | R | 4,044 | 4,345 | 8,442 | |
| 1972 | R | 2,818 | 5,347 | 8,181 | |
| 1968 | R | 3,075 | 4,883 | 8,946 | |
| 1964 | D | 5,136 | 4,176 | 9,312 | |
| 1960 | R | 3,667 | 6,120 | 9,800 | |
| 1956 | R | 3,751 | 6,104 | 9,862 | |
| 1952 | R | 3,875 | 6,207 | 10,086 | |
| 1948 | R | 4,391 | 4,472 | 9,057 | |
| 1944 | R | 4,003 | 5,191 | 9,305 | |
| 1940 | R | 5,625 | 6,061 | 11,833 | |
| 1936 | D | 6,168 | 5,060 | 11,398 | |
| 1932 | D | 6,100 | 4,194 | 10,441 | |
| 1928 | R | 3,806 | 5,851 | 9,726 | |
| 1924 | R | 4,103 | 4,607 | 8,945 | |
| 1920 | R | 3,707 | 4,720 | 8,714 | |
| 1916 | D | 5,052 | 4,481 | 10,076 | |
| 1912 | D | 2,550 | 1,617 | 5,320 | |
| 1908 | D | 2,253 | 2,197 | 4,659 | |
| 1904 | R | 1,712 | 1,969 | 3,888 | |
| 1900 | D | 2,021 | 1,961 | 4,083 | |
| 1896 | R | 1,948 | 1,972 | 3,991 | |
| 1892 | D | 1,572 | 1,523 | 3,362 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Lawrence County, tucked along the Wabash River in southeastern Illinois, recorded an R+56.2 margin in 2024 — among the widest in a state whose statewide results consistently trend the opposite direction.
The Democratic margin in Lawrence County peaked at eighteen points in 1932. By 2000 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was fifty-six points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Lawrence County's median household income of $55,324 sits well below state and national norms, and 15% 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 Clinton County and Fayette County.