akashic
1876–2024
Outline of Steele County, Minnesota
Steele County·Minnesota

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

A south-central dairy county that has drifted steadily toward wide Republican margins

18762024·38 elections
MN
Latest
R+24
in 2024
Archetype
Republican loyalist
since the recent cycles
Population
37,439
2024 ACS
Most similar
Chemung County
NY · similarity 0.99
26 precincts · 20,872 votes cast
Trump · R+24
Margin
Turnout
Harris +50
Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
2024R
−24.4%
7,65012,74220,872
2020R
−22.4%
7,91712,65621,128
2016R
−25.8%
6,24111,19819,179
2012R
−6.3%
8,7069,90319,124
2008R
−5.4%
9,01610,06819,656
2004R
−12.8%
7,99410,38918,695
2000R
−8.2%
6,9008,22316,066
1996D
+9.1%
6,9745,61714,964
1992R
−5.1%
5,1525,96415,789
1988R
−18.3%
5,4967,98113,610
1984R
−26.7%
5,0608,78013,910
1980R
−19.0%
5,0957,80514,279
1976R
−5.8%
6,2637,05313,647
1972R
−30.9%
4,0107,67811,868
1968R
−14.0%
4,6316,19311,190
1964D
+10.4%
6,0224,88210,939
1960R
−20.4%
4,4916,79511,301
1956R
−32.2%
3,2936,4359,764
1952R
−42.2%
2,8196,9569,804
1948R
−1.7%
4,3054,4518,816
1944R
−18.0%
3,3074,7608,082
1940R
−20.1%
3,6685,5179,199
1936D
+13.5%
4,4813,3738,224
1932D
+12.2%
4,3183,3657,790
1928R
−25.3%
2,8264,7447,595
1924R
−46.3%
7963,5986,047
1920R
−55.4%
1,1674,2435,550
1916R
−7.1%
1,4971,7343,322
1912D
+20.1%
1,2946513,200
1908R
−18.5%
1,2841,8993,325
1904R
−31.1%
1,0672,0953,303
1900R
−20.5%
1,1881,8333,143
1896R
−23.2%
1,2482,0463,444
1892D
+3.4%
1,3961,2992,866
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
2.6%
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
Mainline Protestant
34.5%
Catholic & Orthodox
20.4%
Other Christian
3.1%
Methodist
1.5%
Pentecostal & Holiness
0.8%
Non-Christian
0.5%
Baptist
0.3%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 38.9% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Steele County anchors Minnesota's southern tier, where a largely rural, white working-class electorate has produced Republican presidential margins exceeding 20 points in each of the last three cycles.

The Republican margin in Steele County reached its widest at fifty-five points in 1920. The margin in 2024 was twenty-four points, in line with the county's deep historical pattern.

Steele County's loyalty is rooted in its place. Median household income of $84,196, a 86% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 37,439 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 Chemung County and Jefferson County.