akashic
1876–2024
Carlisle County, Kentucky
Carlisle County·Kentucky

For one hundred four years, Carlisle County voted Democratic. Then it stopped.

One of Kentucky's smallest counties, with margins that dwarf its population

18762024·38 elections
Carlisle County, Kentucky · Nyttend · Wikimedia Commons
Latest
R+68
in 2024
Archetype
Realigner
since the recent cycles
Population
4,762
2024 ACS
Most similar
Johnston County
OK · similarity 1.00
6 precincts · 2,610 votes cast
Trump · R+68
Margin
Turnout
Harris +50
Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
2024R
−68.0%
4082,1822,610
2020R
−64.3%
4632,1592,638
2016R
−63.9%
4322,0942,601
2012R
−41.4%
7501,8352,619
2008R
−31.3%
8791,6992,617
2004R
−22.2%
1,1021,7342,845
2000R
−9.9%
1,1491,4052,593
1996D
+22.2%
1,3558162,427
1992D
+21.2%
1,3838442,545
1988D
+12.6%
1,4281,1042,564
1984R
−1.2%
1,2771,3082,608
1980D
+22.3%
1,5429752,545
1976D
+63.1%
1,9854352,456
1972R
−14.2%
8721,1692,097
1968D
+27.3%
1,1444792,438
1964D
+69.2%
1,5652821,853
1960D
+28.8%
1,7709782,748
1956D
+54.4%
2,0636082,676
1952D
+48.0%
1,8676562,524
1948D
+73.7%
1,8992792,199
1944D
+60.4%
2,0575052,568
1940D
+64.8%
2,3665002,878
1936D
+66.5%
2,1504202,600
1932D
+74.9%
2,8404023,253
1928D
+43.4%
1,9947872,783
1924D
+64.6%
2,2504672,758
1920D
+58.1%
2,6886883,442
1916D
+52.7%
1,6464942,185
1912D
+55.5%
1,4093311,942
1908D
+52.3%
1,6254822,184
1904D
+47.3%
1,4284682,031
1900D
+48.6%
1,5875332,168
1896D
+59.1%
1,6243902,088
1892D
+41.5%
8112231,418
1888
No data
1884
No data
1880
No data
1876
No data
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
100.0%
African American
1.2%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
0.0%
speak English only
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Baptist
41.0%
Other Christian
15.0%
Methodist
5.7%
Catholic & Orthodox
3.4%
Mainline Protestant
0.4%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 34.5% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Carlisle County's 2024 presidential margin of R+68 points reflects a deep-rural western Kentucky electorate where a few hundred votes can produce some of the widest partisan spreads in the state.

The unraveling was not abrupt. The Democratic margin in Carlisle County peaked at seventy-five points in 1932; it narrowed steadily over the late twentieth century. The 2000 election delivered the county to the Republican party for the first time in many years, by a margin of ten points. By 2024, the margin had widened further.

The economic and demographic context is severe. Carlisle County's median household income of $62,439 is among the lowest of any county in the United States; 15% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Johnston County and Marshall County.