| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 1,686 | 4,704 | 6,484 | |
| 2020 | R | 1,891 | 4,512 | 6,516 | |
| 2016 | R | 1,814 | 4,033 | 6,196 | |
| 2012 | R | 2,951 | 3,161 | 6,245 | |
| 2008 | R | 2,970 | 3,086 | 6,176 | |
| 2004 | R | 3,063 | 3,340 | 6,450 | |
| 2000 | R | 2,560 | 2,992 | 5,704 | |
| 1996 | D | 2,747 | 2,233 | 5,592 | |
| 1992 | D | 2,810 | 2,346 | 6,373 | |
| 1988 | D | 3,209 | 2,779 | 6,088 | |
| 1984 | R | 3,289 | 3,412 | 6,759 | |
| 1980 | R | 2,769 | 3,544 | 6,728 | |
| 1976 | D | 3,424 | 3,036 | 6,558 | |
| 1972 | R | 2,283 | 4,321 | 6,747 | |
| 1968 | R | 3,005 | 3,497 | 7,053 | |
| 1964 | D | 4,960 | 2,872 | 7,856 | |
| 1960 | R | 3,422 | 5,040 | 8,480 | |
| 1956 | R | 4,064 | 4,980 | 9,054 | |
| 1952 | R | 4,276 | 5,429 | 9,804 | |
| 1948 | D | 4,998 | 4,078 | 9,296 | |
| 1944 | D | 5,015 | 4,928 | 10,020 | |
| 1940 | D | 6,069 | 6,032 | 12,202 | |
| 1936 | D | 6,599 | 5,511 | 12,203 | |
| 1932 | D | 5,519 | 4,229 | 10,017 | |
| 1928 | R | 3,340 | 6,864 | 10,287 | |
| 1924 | R | 2,032 | 6,421 | 11,238 | |
| 1920 | R | 2,952 | 6,382 | 9,743 | |
| 1916 | R | 2,510 | 3,327 | 6,346 | |
| 1912 | R | 2,058 | 2,356 | 5,807 | |
| 1908 | R | 2,167 | 3,161 | 5,747 | |
| 1904 | R | 1,743 | 3,607 | 6,026 | |
| 1900 | R | 2,690 | 3,538 | 6,373 | |
| 1896 | R | 2,940 | 3,046 | 6,027 | |
| 1892 | R | 1,924 | 2,534 | 4,987 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Appanoose, anchored by Centerville, sits atop southeastern Iowa's former bituminous coal belt. Its rural, working-class demographic shift has pushed Republican presidential margins from single digits in the early 2000s to over 46 points by 2024.
The Democratic margin in Appanoose County peaked at twenty-seven points in 1964. By 2000 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was forty-seven points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Appanoose County's median household income of $54,934 sits well below state and national norms, and 18% 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 Monona County and Wayne County.