| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 1,457 | 6,848 | 8,431 | |
| 2020 | R | 1,799 | 7,226 | 9,135 | |
| 2016 | R | 1,542 | 7,293 | 9,134 | |
| 2012 | R | 1,702 | 6,811 | 8,758 | |
| 2008 | R | 2,623 | 5,367 | 8,235 | |
| 2004 | R | 4,192 | 4,801 | 9,065 | |
| 2000 | D | 4,698 | 4,092 | 8,985 | |
| 1996 | D | 4,160 | 2,222 | 7,226 | |
| 1992 | D | 5,817 | 3,011 | 10,090 | |
| 1988 | D | 4,697 | 3,601 | 8,344 | |
| 1984 | D | 4,707 | 4,073 | 8,830 | |
| 1980 | D | 4,280 | 3,426 | 7,818 | |
| 1976 | D | 4,590 | 3,122 | 7,748 | |
| 1972 | R | 2,908 | 4,213 | 7,197 | |
| 1968 | D | 3,499 | 3,243 | 7,667 | |
| 1964 | D | 5,420 | 2,632 | 8,063 | |
| 1960 | R | 4,258 | 4,408 | 8,666 | |
| 1956 | R | 4,133 | 5,741 | 9,904 | |
| 1952 | D | 5,097 | 4,689 | 9,786 | |
| 1948 | D | 4,741 | 3,560 | 8,324 | |
| 1944 | D | 4,599 | 4,055 | 8,670 | |
| 1940 | D | 6,127 | 4,433 | 10,579 | |
| 1936 | D | 6,240 | 3,871 | 10,122 | |
| 1932 | D | 5,190 | 4,732 | 9,975 | |
| 1928 | R | 3,502 | 5,400 | 8,918 | |
| 1924 | R | 1,912 | 3,172 | 5,771 | |
| 1920 | R | 1,960 | 4,317 | 6,301 | |
| 1916 | R | 1,121 | 2,220 | 3,364 | |
| 1912 | R | 611 | 978 | 1,969 | |
| 1908 | R | 476 | 1,158 | 1,648 | |
| 1904 | R | 405 | 960 | 1,368 | |
| 1900 | R | 501 | 1,062 | 1,567 | |
| 1896 | R | 388 | 813 | 1,221 | |
| 1892 | R | 274 | 513 | 790 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Letcher County, anchored by the old coal town of Whitesburg, has shifted from reliably Democratic to among the most heavily Republican counties in Kentucky, tracking a regional realignment driven by cultural and economic change in the coalfields.
The Democratic margin in Letcher County peaked at thirty-five points in 1964. By 2004 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was sixty-four points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Letcher County's median household income of $41,793 sits well below state and national norms, and 24% 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 Perry County and Harlan County.