| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 2,599 | 5,541 | 8,275 | |
| 2020 | R | 2,933 | 5,600 | 8,715 | |
| 2016 | R | 2,733 | 5,299 | 8,632 | |
| 2012 | R | 3,793 | 4,581 | 8,520 | |
| 2008 | R | 4,244 | 4,368 | 8,813 | |
| 2004 | R | 3,898 | 5,159 | 9,204 | |
| 2000 | R | 3,760 | 4,766 | 8,872 | |
| 1996 | D | 4,106 | 3,769 | 9,061 | |
| 1992 | D | 3,756 | 3,548 | 9,930 | |
| 1988 | D | 4,953 | 4,348 | 9,394 | |
| 1984 | R | 4,619 | 4,876 | 9,605 | |
| 1980 | R | 4,703 | 4,706 | 10,365 | |
| 1976 | D | 6,034 | 4,503 | 10,735 | |
| 1972 | D | 5,464 | 4,951 | 10,525 | |
| 1968 | D | 5,171 | 4,451 | 10,107 | |
| 1964 | D | 6,431 | 3,517 | 9,960 | |
| 1960 | R | 4,947 | 5,636 | 10,594 | |
| 1956 | R | 4,036 | 5,196 | 9,241 | |
| 1952 | R | 3,351 | 6,340 | 9,717 | |
| 1948 | D | 5,090 | 3,203 | 8,382 | |
| 1944 | R | 3,413 | 4,149 | 7,597 | |
| 1940 | R | 3,919 | 5,104 | 9,059 | |
| 1936 | D | 4,919 | 2,601 | 8,072 | |
| 1932 | D | 4,343 | 2,417 | 6,838 | |
| 1928 | R | 2,862 | 3,676 | 6,563 | |
| 1924 | R | 421 | 2,835 | 6,150 | |
| 1920 | R | 982 | 4,420 | 5,550 | |
| 1916 | R | 1,280 | 1,413 | 2,804 | |
| 1912 | D | 994 | 605 | 2,911 | |
| 1908 | R | 925 | 1,432 | 2,522 | |
| 1904 | R | 622 | 1,732 | 2,456 | |
| 1900 | R | 1,101 | 1,709 | 2,963 | |
| 1896 | R | 1,204 | 1,568 | 2,859 | |
| 1892 | D | 894 | 664 | 2,021 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Nobles County anchors southwest Minnesota's livestock economy, with Worthington's large immigrant workforce creating a demographic tension that hasn't translated into Democratic margins — the county moved roughly 20 points toward Republicans between 2008 and 2024.
The Democratic margin in Nobles County peaked at twenty-nine points in 1964. By 2000 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was thirty-six points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Nobles County's median household income of $66,101 sits well below state and national norms, and 14% 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 Franklin County and Calhoun County.