akashic
1876–2024
Blue Earth County, Minnesota
Blue Earth County·Minnesota

Blue Earth County delivered a near-tie in 2024.

A long-Democratic stronghold that flipped within one point in 2024

18762024·38 elections
Blue Earth County, Minnesota · Jonathunder · Wikimedia Commons
Latest
R+1
in 2024
Archetype
Tossup
since the recent cycles
Population
69,871
2024 ACS
Most similar
Nicollet County
MN · similarity 0.98
55 precincts · 36,442 votes cast
Trump · R+1
Margin
Turnout
Harris +50
Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
2024R
−1.2%
17,55818,00136,442
2020D
+4.4%
18,33016,73136,051
2016R
−3.7%
14,42815,66733,593
2012D
+9.5%
18,16414,91634,274
2008D
+13.0%
19,32514,78235,070
2004D
+3.4%
16,86515,73733,119
2000R
−2.2%
12,32912,94227,402
1996D
+13.2%
12,4209,08225,261
1992D
+9.8%
11,5318,81327,847
1988D
+1.7%
12,37511,95924,552
1984R
−9.2%
11,87714,29826,347
1980R
−4.0%
10,93011,96626,138
1976D
+3.6%
12,93011,99825,688
1972R
−8.7%
10,63812,70223,662
1968R
−1.6%
9,2549,57119,537
1964D
+14.2%
10,6878,00918,797
1960R
−16.9%
8,05211,32819,413
1956R
−35.1%
5,46711,39816,886
1952R
−41.0%
4,95211,86716,870
1948R
−1.7%
7,2727,52014,954
1944R
−29.7%
5,0989,42914,581
1940R
−24.1%
5,8809,64215,584
1936D
+18.3%
8,2555,55014,769
1932D
+17.3%
7,9255,55013,691
1928R
−22.0%
5,1778,12013,376
1924R
−46.0%
1,1236,77312,295
1920R
−61.5%
1,9748,89411,251
1916R
−12.3%
2,2112,8645,308
1912D
+12.9%
2,0251,3445,291
1908R
−18.9%
2,1913,2975,867
1904R
−40.6%
1,4193,5735,300
1900R
−22.4%
2,2543,6476,215
1896R
−18.6%
2,7444,0557,052
1892D
+4.8%
2,6802,3995,826
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
3.8%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
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
Mainline Protestant
27.3%
Catholic & Orthodox
18.3%
Other Christian
2.6%
Methodist
2.1%
Pentecostal & Holiness
1.2%
Non-Christian
1.1%
Baptist
0.2%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 47.2% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Home to Mankato and Minnesota State University, Blue Earth County has trended sharply rightward over two decades, narrowing from a reliably Democratic county to a near-even split driven by shifting rural and small-city voting patterns.

The county's recent history is a story of close margins. The Democratic margin reached eighteen points in 1936; the Republican margin reached sixty-two points in 1920. Most other elections have been decided by single-digit points.

Blue Earth County's demographics — a population of 69,871, a 85% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $74,477 — situate the county close to national averages on several dimensions. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Nicollet County and Franklin County.