| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 970 | 2,214 | 3,249 | |
| 2020 | R | 1,071 | 2,295 | 3,420 | |
| 2016 | R | 1,080 | 2,136 | 3,486 | |
| 2012 | R | 1,611 | 1,802 | 3,457 | |
| 2008 | D | 1,739 | 1,634 | 3,435 | |
| 2004 | R | 1,608 | 1,958 | 3,592 | |
| 2000 | R | 1,780 | 1,909 | 3,784 | |
| 1996 | D | 1,827 | 1,314 | 3,488 | |
| 1992 | D | 1,589 | 1,373 | 3,873 | |
| 1988 | D | 1,863 | 1,478 | 3,371 | |
| 1984 | R | 1,854 | 2,306 | 4,195 | |
| 1980 | R | 1,546 | 2,523 | 4,353 | |
| 1976 | D | 2,104 | 1,978 | 4,133 | |
| 1972 | R | 1,533 | 2,515 | 4,082 | |
| 1968 | R | 1,710 | 2,592 | 4,504 | |
| 1964 | D | 3,011 | 1,871 | 4,885 | |
| 1960 | R | 2,595 | 2,935 | 5,532 | |
| 1956 | R | 2,585 | 3,057 | 5,644 | |
| 1952 | R | 2,220 | 3,605 | 5,829 | |
| 1948 | D | 2,840 | 2,177 | 5,153 | |
| 1944 | D | 3,094 | 2,346 | 5,447 | |
| 1940 | D | 3,236 | 2,632 | 5,875 | |
| 1936 | D | 3,448 | 2,344 | 5,839 | |
| 1932 | D | 2,986 | 1,604 | 4,633 | |
| 1928 | D | 2,364 | 2,340 | 4,733 | |
| 1924 | R | 965 | 2,475 | 4,595 | |
| 1920 | R | 1,405 | 2,963 | 4,378 | |
| 1916 | R | 1,247 | 1,581 | 2,843 | |
| 1912 | D | 963 | 692 | 2,646 | |
| 1908 | R | 1,050 | 1,701 | 2,795 | |
| 1904 | R | 934 | 1,843 | 2,836 | |
| 1900 | R | 1,301 | 1,821 | 3,147 | |
| 1896 | R | 1,417 | 1,705 | 3,149 | |
| 1892 | D | 1,393 | 1,288 | 2,768 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Audubon County's roughly 6,800 residents are spread across rolling cropland in west-central Iowa, and its presidential margins have shifted decisively rightward over the past two decades as rural agricultural counties across the state have trended similarly.
The Democratic margin in Audubon County peaked at thirty points in 1932. By 2012 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was thirty-eight points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Audubon County's median household income of $58,229 sits well below state and national norms, and 12% 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 Emmet County and Carroll County.