| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 1,219 | 3,869 | 5,150 | |
| 2020 | R | 1,414 | 3,797 | 5,303 | |
| 2016 | R | 1,342 | 3,390 | 5,035 | |
| 2012 | R | 2,303 | 2,843 | 5,266 | |
| 2008 | R | 2,518 | 2,712 | 5,361 | |
| 2004 | R | 2,294 | 3,119 | 5,480 | |
| 2000 | R | 2,181 | 2,571 | 4,947 | |
| 1996 | D | 2,545 | 2,080 | 5,101 | |
| 1992 | D | 2,329 | 1,981 | 5,577 | |
| 1988 | D | 2,899 | 2,278 | 5,230 | |
| 1984 | R | 2,649 | 2,913 | 5,656 | |
| 1980 | R | 2,390 | 3,145 | 5,975 | |
| 1976 | D | 3,482 | 2,920 | 6,504 | |
| 1972 | R | 2,619 | 3,831 | 6,565 | |
| 1968 | R | 2,807 | 3,588 | 6,737 | |
| 1964 | D | 4,790 | 2,597 | 7,404 | |
| 1960 | R | 3,408 | 4,697 | 8,115 | |
| 1956 | R | 3,649 | 4,680 | 8,338 | |
| 1952 | R | 3,135 | 5,712 | 8,897 | |
| 1948 | R | 4,118 | 4,201 | 8,475 | |
| 1944 | R | 3,900 | 4,644 | 8,606 | |
| 1940 | R | 4,552 | 5,394 | 9,988 | |
| 1936 | D | 5,162 | 4,491 | 9,878 | |
| 1932 | D | 5,839 | 3,442 | 9,369 | |
| 1928 | R | 3,772 | 5,304 | 9,108 | |
| 1924 | R | 2,568 | 4,795 | 9,336 | |
| 1920 | R | 2,800 | 6,207 | 9,135 | |
| 1916 | R | 2,486 | 2,822 | 5,408 | |
| 1912 | D | 2,434 | 1,361 | 5,220 | |
| 1908 | R | 2,459 | 2,728 | 5,380 | |
| 1904 | R | 2,172 | 3,079 | 5,516 | |
| 1900 | R | 2,669 | 3,339 | 6,147 | |
| 1896 | R | 2,891 | 3,166 | 6,242 | |
| 1892 | D | 2,655 | 2,509 | 5,411 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Keokuk County's small, agriculture-dependent population has shifted sharply rightward over the past decade, posting a 51.5-point Republican margin in 2024 — among the widest gaps in a state that has itself trended heavily toward the GOP.
The Democratic margin in Keokuk County peaked at thirty points in 1964. By 2000 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was fifty-one points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Keokuk County's median household income of $62,329 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 Wayne County and Murray County.