| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 3,160 | 14,549 | 17,860 | |
| 2020 | R | 3,301 | 14,602 | 18,169 | |
| 2016 | R | 3,036 | 13,650 | 17,259 | |
| 2012 | R | 4,363 | 12,248 | 16,889 | |
| 2008 | R | 5,316 | 11,805 | 17,338 | |
| 2004 | R | 4,666 | 11,696 | 16,441 | |
| 2000 | R | 4,996 | 9,111 | 14,397 | |
| 1996 | R | 5,780 | 6,996 | 14,343 | |
| 1992 | D | 6,602 | 6,450 | 15,272 | |
| 1988 | R | 5,751 | 7,968 | 13,738 | |
| 1984 | R | 4,699 | 8,712 | 13,411 | |
| 1980 | R | 5,605 | 8,342 | 14,181 | |
| 1976 | D | 6,759 | 5,669 | 12,485 | |
| 1972 | R | 3,466 | 9,198 | 12,664 | |
| 1968 | R | 4,379 | 6,326 | 13,464 | |
| 1964 | D | 7,710 | 5,616 | 13,326 | |
| 1960 | R | 5,406 | 8,751 | 14,157 | |
| 1956 | R | 5,869 | 7,216 | 13,085 | |
| 1952 | R | 6,426 | 7,843 | 14,285 | |
| 1948 | D | 5,319 | 4,276 | 9,630 | |
| 1944 | R | 4,219 | 6,375 | 10,626 | |
| 1940 | R | 6,213 | 8,024 | 14,275 | |
| 1936 | R | 6,234 | 6,355 | 12,631 | |
| 1932 | D | 6,058 | 4,155 | 10,303 | |
| 1928 | R | 3,320 | 5,591 | 8,949 | |
| 1924 | R | 2,953 | 4,489 | 8,019 | |
| 1920 | R | 2,662 | 4,601 | 7,442 | |
| 1916 | R | 2,135 | 2,717 | 5,054 | |
| 1912 | D | 1,946 | 1,851 | 4,665 | |
| 1908 | R | 1,893 | 2,186 | 4,268 | |
| 1904 | R | 1,369 | 1,960 | 3,568 | |
| 1900 | R | 1,670 | 1,888 | 3,647 | |
| 1896 | D | 1,743 | 1,635 | 3,393 | |
| 1892 | D | 1,233 | 1,052 | 2,487 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Butler County, anchored by Poplar Bluff in the Ozark foothills, recorded an R+63.8 presidential margin in 2024 — placing it among Missouri's most one-sided counties and reflecting the broader rural realignment that has reshaped the state's electoral map over two decades.
The Democratic margin in Butler County peaked at eighteen points in 1932. By 1996 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was sixty-four points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Butler County's median household income of $49,089 sits well below state and national norms, and 21% 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 Lincoln County and Johnson County.