| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 529 | 2,152 | 2,713 | |
| 2020 | R | 564 | 2,199 | 2,814 | |
| 2016 | R | 541 | 2,060 | 2,730 | |
| 2012 | R | 756 | 1,902 | 2,709 | |
| 2008 | R | 1,000 | 1,936 | 2,976 | |
| 2004 | R | 1,005 | 2,137 | 3,156 | |
| 2000 | R | 1,013 | 1,798 | 2,871 | |
| 1996 | R | 1,266 | 1,327 | 2,978 | |
| 1992 | D | 1,208 | 1,140 | 3,199 | |
| 1988 | R | 1,468 | 1,761 | 3,239 | |
| 1984 | R | 1,219 | 2,277 | 3,496 | |
| 1980 | R | 1,273 | 2,096 | 3,556 | |
| 1976 | R | 1,926 | 1,960 | 3,930 | |
| 1972 | R | 1,509 | 2,927 | 4,436 | |
| 1968 | R | 1,752 | 2,206 | 4,295 | |
| 1964 | D | 2,870 | 1,653 | 4,523 | |
| 1960 | R | 2,167 | 2,659 | 4,826 | |
| 1956 | R | 2,321 | 2,774 | 5,095 | |
| 1952 | R | 2,028 | 3,259 | 5,297 | |
| 1948 | D | 2,498 | 2,190 | 4,693 | |
| 1944 | R | 2,214 | 2,803 | 5,021 | |
| 1940 | R | 3,025 | 3,322 | 6,358 | |
| 1936 | D | 3,452 | 3,044 | 6,503 | |
| 1932 | D | 3,617 | 2,155 | 5,806 | |
| 1928 | R | 2,535 | 3,239 | 5,786 | |
| 1924 | R | 2,617 | 2,710 | 5,501 | |
| 1920 | R | 2,227 | 3,236 | 5,514 | |
| 1916 | D | 1,697 | 1,626 | 3,379 | |
| 1912 | D | 1,534 | 1,138 | 3,297 | |
| 1908 | R | 1,651 | 1,700 | 3,423 | |
| 1904 | R | 1,506 | 1,839 | 3,486 | |
| 1900 | D | 1,926 | 1,767 | 3,842 | |
| 1896 | D | 2,272 | 1,587 | 3,905 | |
| 1892 | D | 1,147 | 1,093 | 3,418 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Atchison County sits in Missouri's far northwest, where a sparse, agriculturally driven population has delivered some of the state's largest Republican presidential margins over the past decade.
The Democratic margin in Atchison County peaked at twenty-seven points in 1964. By 1996 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was sixty points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Atchison County's median household income of $58,750 sits well below state and national norms, and 12% 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 Dent County and Holt County.