| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 1,390 | 5,586 | 7,067 | |
| 2020 | R | 1,517 | 5,791 | 7,431 | |
| 2016 | R | 1,412 | 5,640 | 7,335 | |
| 2012 | R | 2,188 | 4,731 | 7,082 | |
| 2008 | R | 3,315 | 3,987 | 7,453 | |
| 2004 | R | 3,071 | 5,180 | 8,301 | |
| 2000 | R | 2,958 | 4,521 | 7,637 | |
| 1996 | D | 3,553 | 2,878 | 7,352 | |
| 1992 | D | 4,308 | 3,057 | 8,811 | |
| 1988 | R | 4,144 | 4,354 | 8,531 | |
| 1984 | R | 3,457 | 5,500 | 8,983 | |
| 1980 | R | 3,463 | 5,279 | 9,072 | |
| 1976 | D | 5,306 | 4,600 | 9,933 | |
| 1972 | R | 3,678 | 6,052 | 9,746 | |
| 1968 | R | 3,837 | 5,351 | 9,952 | |
| 1964 | D | 5,963 | 4,000 | 9,963 | |
| 1960 | R | 4,756 | 5,810 | 10,577 | |
| 1956 | R | 4,778 | 6,128 | 10,917 | |
| 1952 | R | 4,284 | 6,141 | 10,431 | |
| 1948 | D | 4,761 | 4,498 | 9,338 | |
| 1944 | R | 4,822 | 5,139 | 10,052 | |
| 1940 | D | 5,909 | 5,459 | 11,493 | |
| 1936 | D | 6,511 | 4,322 | 10,909 | |
| 1932 | D | 5,909 | 3,320 | 9,298 | |
| 1928 | R | 3,666 | 4,177 | 7,879 | |
| 1924 | D | 4,377 | 3,780 | 8,454 | |
| 1920 | R | 4,148 | 4,494 | 8,772 | |
| 1916 | D | 5,066 | 4,137 | 9,437 | |
| 1912 | D | 2,708 | 1,692 | 5,298 | |
| 1908 | D | 2,934 | 2,436 | 5,600 | |
| 1904 | D | 2,774 | 2,515 | 5,566 | |
| 1900 | D | 3,170 | 2,658 | 5,915 | |
| 1896 | D | 3,421 | 2,771 | 6,235 | |
| 1892 | D | 2,954 | 2,215 | 5,483 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
White County, in the rural southeastern corner of Illinois, delivered a nearly 60-point Republican margin in 2024—one of the state's widest—reflecting the broader shift of small, majority-white rural counties away from competitive two-party voting over the past decade.
The Democratic margin in White County peaked at twenty-eight points in 1932. By 2000 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was fifty-nine points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. White County's median household income of $54,813 sits well below state and national norms, and 16% 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 Pike County and Gibson County.