| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 4,848 | 9,607 | 14,677 | |
| 2020 | R | 5,076 | 9,950 | 15,333 | |
| 2016 | R | 4,696 | 9,076 | 14,800 | |
| 2012 | R | 5,806 | 7,972 | 14,142 | |
| 2008 | R | 7,467 | 7,591 | 15,353 | |
| 2004 | R | 5,650 | 9,392 | 15,180 | |
| 2000 | R | 5,899 | 8,058 | 14,334 | |
| 1996 | R | 6,150 | 6,352 | 14,238 | |
| 1992 | R | 6,351 | 6,566 | 16,297 | |
| 1988 | R | 6,032 | 8,808 | 14,886 | |
| 1984 | R | 5,361 | 10,683 | 16,097 | |
| 1980 | R | 5,483 | 10,406 | 16,997 | |
| 1976 | R | 7,403 | 8,885 | 16,489 | |
| 1972 | R | 5,674 | 11,103 | 16,789 | |
| 1968 | R | 6,281 | 8,902 | 16,327 | |
| 1964 | D | 9,235 | 7,240 | 16,475 | |
| 1960 | R | 7,259 | 9,791 | 17,062 | |
| 1956 | R | 6,327 | 10,262 | 16,600 | |
| 1952 | R | 6,637 | 10,405 | 17,046 | |
| 1948 | R | 6,798 | 8,398 | 15,255 | |
| 1944 | R | 6,965 | 8,923 | 15,930 | |
| 1940 | R | 9,082 | 10,137 | 19,283 | |
| 1936 | D | 9,800 | 8,844 | 18,811 | |
| 1932 | D | 10,170 | 7,787 | 18,130 | |
| 1928 | R | 5,805 | 10,192 | 16,046 | |
| 1924 | R | 5,721 | 8,223 | 14,844 | |
| 1920 | R | 4,447 | 8,169 | 12,993 | |
| 1916 | R | 7,104 | 7,536 | 14,988 | |
| 1912 | D | 3,648 | 1,466 | 7,582 | |
| 1908 | R | 3,993 | 4,019 | 8,363 | |
| 1904 | R | 3,343 | 4,248 | 8,225 | |
| 1900 | R | 4,321 | 4,341 | 8,922 | |
| 1896 | D | 4,323 | 4,317 | 8,761 | |
| 1892 | D | 4,006 | 3,471 | 7,947 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Morgan County's rural, agricultural character has tracked a steady rightward shift over the past two decades, with its county seat of Jacksonville providing a small urban anchor that no longer offsets the broader regional realignment.
The Democratic margin in Morgan County peaked at twenty-nine points in 1912. By 1968 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was thirty-two points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Morgan County's median household income of $66,306 sits well below state and national norms, and 13% 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 Ionia County and Jay County.