| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 940 | 1,885 | 2,934 | |
| 2020 | R | 991 | 1,891 | 2,965 | |
| 2016 | R | 732 | 1,679 | 2,603 | |
| 2012 | R | 978 | 1,758 | 2,821 | |
| 2008 | R | 1,122 | 1,634 | 2,861 | |
| 2004 | R | 946 | 1,913 | 2,921 | |
| 2000 | R | 686 | 2,039 | 2,885 | |
| 1996 | R | 1,039 | 1,660 | 3,157 | |
| 1992 | R | 959 | 1,380 | 3,236 | |
| 1988 | R | 1,166 | 1,980 | 3,219 | |
| 1984 | R | 896 | 2,425 | 3,360 | |
| 1980 | R | 853 | 2,448 | 3,583 | |
| 1976 | R | 1,568 | 1,814 | 3,465 | |
| 1972 | R | 1,149 | 2,027 | 3,399 | |
| 1968 | R | 1,216 | 1,695 | 3,159 | |
| 1964 | D | 1,827 | 1,444 | 3,276 | |
| 1960 | D | 1,708 | 1,672 | 3,389 | |
| 1956 | D | 1,794 | 1,721 | 3,515 | |
| 1952 | R | 1,423 | 2,098 | 3,535 | |
| 1948 | D | 1,832 | 1,181 | 3,138 | |
| 1944 | D | 1,906 | 1,220 | 3,153 | |
| 1940 | D | 2,213 | 1,235 | 3,475 | |
| 1936 | D | 2,734 | 878 | 3,657 | |
| 1932 | D | 2,093 | 1,232 | 3,477 | |
| 1928 | R | 1,232 | 1,837 | 3,106 | |
| 1924 | R | 706 | 1,347 | 2,919 | |
| 1920 | R | 1,436 | 2,646 | 4,348 | |
| 1916 | D | 2,738 | 1,486 | 4,420 | |
| 1912 | R | 402 | 561 | 1,354 | |
| 1908 | R | 893 | 1,220 | 2,229 | |
| 1904 | R | 568 | 1,517 | 2,148 | |
| 1900 | R | 629 | 1,098 | 1,741 | |
| 1896 | D | 701 | 624 | 1,331 | |
| 1892 | R | 676 | 788 | 1,518 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Chouteau County stretches across Montana's Hi-Line, where a sparse, agriculture-driven population has delivered Republican presidential margins exceeding 30 points in recent cycles, reflecting a pattern consistent across the region's rural plains counties.
The Democratic margin in Chouteau County peaked at fifty-one points in 1936. By 1968 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was thirty-two points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Chouteau County's median household income of $58,218 sits well below state and national norms, and 11% 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 Beaverhead County and Madison County.