akashic
1876–2024
Otsego County, Michigan
Otsego County·Michigan

Otsego County has voted Republican for as long as anyone can remember.

A northern Michigan county where outdoor economy meets lopsided presidential margins

18762024·38 elections
Otsego County, Michigan · Notorious4life (talk) (Uploads) · Wikimedia Commons
Latest
R+35
in 2024
Archetype
Republican loyalist
since the recent cycles
Population
25,584
2024 ACS
Most similar
Nye County
NV · similarity 0.99
26 precincts · 15,999 votes cast
Trump · R+35
Margin
Turnout
Harris +50
Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
2024R
−35.3%
5,05210,69315,999
2020R
−34.1%
4,7439,77914,757
2016R
−37.4%
3,5568,26612,610
2012R
−19.6%
4,6817,01111,891
2008R
−8.9%
5,6346,75212,616
2004R
−22.7%
4,6747,47012,307
2000R
−19.7%
4,0346,10810,505
1996R
−3.4%
3,3513,6388,320
1992R
−2.9%
3,1293,3939,207
1988R
−27.2%
2,6354,6207,298
1984R
−37.1%
2,1174,6396,795
1980R
−15.7%
2,6663,7717,023
1976R
−7.2%
2,7243,1555,952
1972R
−19.5%
1,9122,8544,843
1968R
−5.5%
1,6611,8713,793
1964D
+29.8%
2,2451,2143,462
1960R
−12.2%
1,5211,9443,469
1956R
−27.6%
1,0951,9303,028
1952R
−38.2%
8651,9412,818
1948R
−21.7%
8881,3922,320
1944R
−15.9%
9121,2592,182
1940R
−9.4%
1,1191,3532,480
1936D
+7.3%
1,2801,1022,447
1932D
+14.9%
1,3771,0062,493
1928R
−37.4%
4761,0491,531
1924R
−57.7%
2491,1441,550
1920R
−29.9%
4668741,365
1916R
−1.1%
5195311,080
1912R
−24.3%
1944481,047
1908R
−49.3%
2768641,192
1904R
−61.9%
2661,2391,572
1900R
−38.9%
4361,0201,501
1896R
−20.7%
5608591,446
1892D
+0.5%
5315251,103
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%
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
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
Catholic & Orthodox
15.4%
Other Christian
6.6%
Methodist
3.6%
Mainline Protestant
3.2%
Pentecostal & Holiness
1.2%
Baptist
0.4%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 69.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Otsego's population of roughly 23,000 clusters around Gaylord in Michigan's Lower Peninsula, and the county has delivered Republican presidential margins exceeding 30 points in recent cycles, making it one of the state's most reliably one-sided rural counties.

The Republican margin in Otsego County reached its widest at sixty-two points in 1904. The margin in 2024 was thirty-five points, in line with the county's deep historical pattern.

Otsego County's loyalty is rooted in its place. Median household income of $68,183, a 93% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 25,584 together describe a community whose political habits are deeply settled. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Nye County and Barry County.