akashic
1876–2024
Menard County, Illinois
Menard County·Illinois

Menard County has voted Republican for as long as anyone can remember.

Lincoln's home county swings sharply to the right in presidential races

18762024·38 elections
Menard County, Illinois · Matt Turner · Wikimedia Commons
Latest
R+41
in 2024
Archetype
Republican loyalist
since the recent cycles
Population
12,095
2024 ACS
Most similar
Logan County
IL · similarity 1.00
14 precincts · 6,431 votes cast
Trump · R+41
Margin
Turnout
Harris +50
Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
2024R
−41.4%
1,8344,4996,431
2020R
−39.4%
2,0224,7646,954
2016R
−37.1%
1,8174,2316,515
2012R
−30.0%
2,1003,9486,151
2008R
−14.9%
2,7063,6726,464
2004R
−34.5%
2,1374,4086,574
2000R
−27.4%
2,1643,8626,202
1996R
−15.4%
2,2043,1065,868
1992R
−9.0%
2,2642,8346,299
1988R
−25.5%
2,1033,5605,705
1984R
−36.4%
1,8263,9255,766
1980R
−36.7%
1,5893,6225,534
1976R
−15.3%
2,3013,1375,479
1972R
−39.3%
1,5873,6575,263
1968R
−26.8%
1,6402,9804,995
1964D
+3.5%
2,4912,3224,813
1960R
−20.3%
2,0683,1205,193
1956R
−27.0%
1,8333,1885,025
1952R
−25.9%
1,9463,3075,256
1948R
−17.2%
2,0432,8994,968
1944R
−22.8%
1,8883,0134,926
1940R
−9.9%
2,8943,5316,458
1936D
+1.4%
3,1523,0676,277
1932D
+19.3%
3,4532,3275,823
1928R
−29.9%
1,7423,2435,025
1924R
−18.7%
1,9542,9315,217
1920R
−20.9%
1,8642,8824,869
1916R
−0.1%
2,6892,6935,548
1912D
+28.7%
1,5306203,175
1908D
+4.2%
1,7481,6003,512
1904R
−5.8%
1,5061,7053,447
1900D
+11.8%
2,0781,6323,773
1896D
+10.1%
2,0181,6423,708
1892D
+14.4%
1,7481,2783,274
1888
No data
1884
No data
1880
No data
1876
No data
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
100.0%
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
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. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
0.0%
speak English only
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Catholic & Orthodox
13.6%
Other Christian
8.8%
Baptist
8.1%
Methodist
6.4%
Mainline Protestant
5.9%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 57.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Menard County, birthplace of New Salem where Abraham Lincoln came of age, has shifted dramatically in presidential voting over recent cycles, posting a 41-point Republican margin in 2024 despite its modest rural population of roughly 12,000.

The Republican margin in Menard County reached its widest at forty-one points in 2024. The margin in 2024 was forty-one points, in line with the county's deep historical pattern.

Menard County's loyalty is rooted in its place. Median household income of $82,176, a 95% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 12,095 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 Logan County and Whitley County.