| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 1,533 | 4,900 | 6,496 | |
| 2020 | R | 1,486 | 4,527 | 6,076 | |
| 2016 | R | 1,306 | 3,814 | 5,315 | |
| 2012 | R | 1,583 | 3,390 | 5,067 | |
| 2008 | R | 2,021 | 3,124 | 5,263 | |
| 2004 | R | 1,922 | 2,883 | 4,827 | |
| 2000 | D | 2,531 | 1,715 | 4,313 | |
| 1996 | R | 1,801 | 1,936 | 4,235 | |
| 1992 | D | 2,271 | 1,853 | 4,730 | |
| 1988 | R | 2,087 | 2,174 | 4,264 | |
| 1984 | R | 2,013 | 2,589 | 4,617 | |
| 1980 | D | 2,198 | 1,995 | 4,310 | |
| 1976 | D | 2,550 | 1,532 | 4,096 | |
| 1972 | R | 1,304 | 2,158 | 3,521 | |
| 1968 | R | 1,102 | 1,695 | 3,701 | |
| 1964 | D | 2,368 | 1,573 | 3,941 | |
| 1960 | D | 2,121 | 1,978 | 4,099 | |
| 1956 | R | 1,670 | 1,699 | 3,369 | |
| 1952 | D | 1,809 | 1,789 | 3,598 | |
| 1948 | D | 1,667 | 1,374 | 3,241 | |
| 1944 | D | 1,810 | 1,495 | 3,305 | |
| 1940 | D | 1,952 | 1,217 | 3,169 | |
| 1936 | D | 2,345 | 1,498 | 3,843 | |
| 1932 | D | 1,951 | 810 | 2,776 | |
| 1928 | D | 1,414 | 1,368 | 2,782 | |
| 1924 | D | 1,643 | 1,234 | 2,883 | |
| 1920 | D | 1,409 | 1,201 | 2,610 | |
| 1916 | D | 796 | 641 | 1,437 | |
| 1912 | D | 652 | 208 | 1,116 | |
| 1908 | D | 633 | 575 | 1,208 | |
| 1904 | D | 699 | 543 | 1,242 | |
| 1900 | D | 709 | 662 | 1,371 | |
| 1896 | D | 737 | 605 | 1,343 | |
| 1892 | D | 797 | 358 | 1,155 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Alleghany sits in North Carolina's northwestern corner along the Virginia line, where a small, rural population has delivered some of the state's most lopsided federal margins over the past decade.
The Democratic margin in Alleghany County peaked at forty-one points in 1932. By 2004 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was fifty-two points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Alleghany County's median household income of $47,172 sits well below state and national norms, and 16% 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 Brule County and Pender County.