akashic
1876–2024
Pennington County, Minnesota
Pennington County·Minnesota

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

Red River Valley county where margins have widened each cycle since 2008

18762024·38 elections
Pennington County, Minnesota · Andrew Filer · Wikimedia Commons
Latest
R+31
in 2024
Archetype
Republican loyalist
since the recent cycles
Population
13,791
2024 ACS
Most similar
Towner County
ND · similarity 0.99
31 precincts · 7,381 votes cast
Trump · R+31
Margin
Turnout
Harris +50
Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
2024R
−31.4%
2,4394,7567,381
2020R
−27.0%
2,5684,5327,277
2016R
−27.6%
2,1474,0006,715
2012R
−4.3%
3,0243,3056,517
2008D
+2.1%
3,3943,2486,822
2004R
−9.3%
3,1173,7677,017
2000R
−14.6%
2,4583,3806,320
1996D
+11.6%
2,8142,1295,915
1992D
+6.7%
2,5782,1556,359
1988D
+3.0%
3,1052,9206,071
1984R
−9.6%
2,9133,5366,489
1980R
−8.3%
3,1013,7157,416
1976D
+11.0%
3,7873,0236,948
1972R
−9.9%
2,8923,5486,600
1968D
+13.7%
2,9982,2475,465
1964D
+40.9%
3,8941,6305,534
1960D
+11.6%
3,2042,5375,759
1956D
+10.1%
2,9472,4085,359
1952D
+1.4%
2,8022,7265,615
1948D
+29.3%
3,4021,7595,608
1944D
+36.8%
3,3301,5254,905
1940D
+34.7%
3,8861,8575,841
1936D
+48.1%
3,7361,2585,155
1932D
+35.5%
2,7431,2124,310
1928R
−34.1%
1,1982,5063,838
1924R
−27.2%
1461,1263,609
1920R
−40.6%
7682,3203,822
1916D
+6.3%
1,0048682,145
1912D
+9.6%
4232441,872
1908
No data
1904
No data
1900
No data
1896
No data
1892
No data
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%
Irish
0.5%
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
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
44.7%
Catholic & Orthodox
10.3%
Other Christian
4.8%
Methodist
0.8%
Pentecostal & Holiness
0.5%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 38.9% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Pennington County sits in Minnesota's northwest corner, anchored by Thief River Falls and its large manufacturing base. Presidential margins here have trended sharply rightward over the past decade, reaching R+31.4 in 2024.

The Republican margin in Pennington County reached its widest at forty-one points in 1920. The margin in 2024 was thirty-one points, in line with the county's deep historical pattern.

Pennington County's loyalty is rooted in its place. Median household income of $77,325, a 89% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 13,791 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 Towner County and Polk County.