| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 1,898 | 6,028 | 8,047 | |
| 2020 | R | 2,023 | 5,520 | 7,677 | |
| 2016 | R | 1,684 | 4,837 | 6,934 | |
| 2012 | R | 2,492 | 4,143 | 6,791 | |
| 2008 | R | 2,882 | 4,128 | 7,169 | |
| 2004 | R | 2,791 | 4,214 | 7,093 | |
| 2000 | R | 2,251 | 3,733 | 6,382 | |
| 1996 | R | 2,480 | 2,696 | 6,040 | |
| 1992 | R | 2,340 | 2,492 | 6,398 | |
| 1988 | R | 2,484 | 3,733 | 6,299 | |
| 1984 | R | 2,454 | 4,306 | 6,792 | |
| 1980 | R | 2,635 | 4,089 | 7,103 | |
| 1976 | D | 3,164 | 3,048 | 6,424 | |
| 1972 | R | 2,430 | 3,408 | 5,974 | |
| 1968 | R | 2,198 | 2,912 | 5,386 | |
| 1964 | D | 2,908 | 2,418 | 5,334 | |
| 1960 | R | 2,240 | 3,082 | 5,329 | |
| 1956 | R | 1,733 | 3,028 | 4,767 | |
| 1952 | R | 1,665 | 3,662 | 5,343 | |
| 1948 | D | 2,556 | 2,272 | 4,917 | |
| 1944 | R | 1,868 | 2,653 | 4,537 | |
| 1940 | R | 2,405 | 2,898 | 5,340 | |
| 1936 | D | 2,605 | 1,898 | 4,649 | |
| 1932 | D | 2,300 | 1,585 | 4,030 | |
| 1928 | R | 1,343 | 2,592 | 4,044 | |
| 1924 | R | 182 | 1,900 | 3,465 | |
| 1920 | R | 503 | 2,635 | 3,487 | |
| 1916 | R | 651 | 938 | 1,727 | |
| 1912 | D | 336 | 278 | 1,330 | |
| 1908 | R | 467 | 991 | 1,559 | |
| 1904 | R | 190 | 1,159 | 1,404 | |
| 1900 | R | 448 | 949 | 1,445 | |
| 1896 | R | 534 | 874 | 1,441 | |
| 1892 | D | 454 | 332 | 1,001 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Wadena County, a sparsely populated stretch of north-central Minnesota lakes and timber land, delivered a 51-point Republican margin in 2024—among the widest gaps in a state that has historically resisted landslide outcomes.
The Democratic margin in Wadena County peaked at eighteen points in 1932. By 1980 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was fifty-one points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Wadena County's median household income of $61,467 sits well below state and national norms, and 13% 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 Washington County and Crawford County.