| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 2,220 | 7,181 | 9,489 | |
| 2020 | R | 2,191 | 7,172 | 9,458 | |
| 2016 | R | 1,689 | 6,298 | 8,249 | |
| 2012 | R | 1,882 | 5,766 | 7,759 | |
| 2008 | R | 2,178 | 5,681 | 7,943 | |
| 2004 | R | 1,805 | 5,678 | 7,524 | |
| 2000 | D | 4,956 | 1,686 | 6,694 | |
| 1996 | R | 1,586 | 3,870 | 6,159 | |
| 1992 | R | 1,755 | 3,895 | 6,787 | |
| 1988 | R | 1,367 | 4,277 | 5,678 | |
| 1984 | R | 1,159 | 4,702 | 5,886 | |
| 1980 | R | 1,527 | 3,480 | 5,182 | |
| 1976 | R | 1,869 | 3,085 | 4,992 | |
| 1972 | R | 627 | 3,510 | 4,179 | |
| 1968 | R | 631 | 3,197 | 4,518 | |
| 1964 | R | 1,523 | 2,656 | 4,179 | |
| 1960 | R | 1,047 | 4,176 | 5,223 | |
| 1956 | R | 969 | 4,009 | 4,978 | |
| 1952 | R | 964 | 3,725 | 4,689 | |
| 1948 | R | 933 | 2,995 | 4,008 | |
| 1944 | R | 838 | 3,178 | 4,016 | |
| 1940 | R | 1,194 | 2,944 | 4,138 | |
| 1936 | R | 839 | 2,971 | 3,810 | |
| 1932 | R | 1,045 | 2,833 | 3,900 | |
| 1928 | R | 390 | 3,273 | 3,663 | |
| 1924 | R | 357 | 2,189 | 2,560 | |
| 1920 | R | 397 | 2,503 | 2,900 | |
| 1916 | R | 360 | 1,158 | 1,520 | |
| 1912 | D | 217 | 138 | 1,307 | |
| 1908 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1904 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1900 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1896 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1892 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Avery County sits atop the Appalachian highlands in western North Carolina, where a predominantly rural, non-Hispanic white electorate has returned Republican presidential candidates by landslide margins for over two decades.
The unraveling was not abrupt. The Democratic margin in Avery County peaked at forty-nine points in 2000; it narrowed steadily over the late twentieth century. The 2004 election delivered the county to the Republican party for the first time in many years, by a margin of fifty-one points. By 2024, the margin had widened further.
The economic and demographic context is severe. Avery County's median household income of $61,428 is among the lowest of any county in the United States; 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Davie County and Mitchell County.