akashic
1876–2024
Bladen County, North Carolina
Bladen County·North Carolina

Bladen County delivered a near-tie in 2024.

A rural timber county where presidential margins have shifted sharply rightward since 2008

18762024·38 elections
Bladen County, North Carolina · Indy beetle · Wikimedia Commons
Latest
R+20
in 2024
Archetype
Tossup
since the recent cycles
Population
29,566
2024 ACS
Most similar
Richmond County
NC · similarity 0.99
17 precincts · 16,764 votes cast
Trump · R+20
Margin
Turnout
Harris +50
Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
2024R
−20.4%
6,62010,03516,764
2020R
−13.7%
7,3269,67617,125
2016R
−9.4%
7,0588,55015,897
2012D
+2.0%
8,0627,74815,957
2008D
+2.1%
7,8537,53215,480
2004R
−0.5%
6,1096,17412,313
2000R
−8.4%
4,9775,88910,908
1996D
+18.0%
4,9523,3358,960
1992D
+24.4%
5,7003,21410,177
1988D
+14.3%
5,0313,7708,814
1984D
+3.7%
5,0644,7019,779
1980D
+37.6%
6,1042,7458,941
1976D
+58.8%
6,0091,5467,589
1972R
−30.8%
2,2014,2056,497
1968D
+12.0%
2,7541,7468,397
1964D
+35.1%
4,5162,1696,685
1960D
+40.3%
4,3531,8546,207
1956D
+45.1%
4,0781,5425,620
1952D
+34.4%
3,5061,7105,216
1948D
+59.6%
2,8315003,914
1944D
+55.3%
2,5427313,273
1940D
+68.7%
2,9255433,468
1936D
+71.8%
3,3605513,911
1932D
+52.7%
2,6518083,495
1928R
−10.4%
1,5521,9113,463
1924D
+32.4%
1,5517862,360
1920D
+29.1%
1,9391,0643,003
1916D
+31.9%
1,2616511,912
1912D
+65.7%
1,140331,684
1908D
+26.3%
1,1326601,792
1904D
+24.4%
9275581,510
1900R
−3.9%
1,1021,1922,314
1896D
+14.0%
1,6651,2562,924
1892D
+0.8%
1,2281,2052,754
1888
No data
1884
No data
1880
No data
1876
No data
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
100.0%
Polish
0.6%
African American
25.9%
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
0.0%
speak English only
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Baptist
30.0%
Methodist
27.3%
Other Christian
7.2%
Mainline Protestant
1.9%
Catholic & Orthodox
1.7%
Pentecostal & Holiness
1.3%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 30.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Bladen County, once a swing battleground, recorded an R+20.4 margin in 2024 — a stark reversal from its Obama-era competitiveness. Its economy still leans on agriculture, hog farming, and forestry in the Cape Fear River lowlands.

The county's recent history is a story of close margins. The Democratic margin reached seventy-two points in 1936; the Republican margin reached thirty-one points in 1972. Most other elections have been decided by single-digit points.

Bladen County's demographics — a population of 29,566, a 55% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $42,422 — situate the county close to national averages on several dimensions. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Richmond County and Gates County.