| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 2,269 | 5,278 | 7,666 | |
| 2020 | R | 2,492 | 4,903 | 7,484 | |
| 2016 | R | 2,319 | 4,177 | 6,708 | |
| 2012 | R | 2,759 | 3,822 | 6,652 | |
| 2008 | R | 2,772 | 3,678 | 6,501 | |
| 2004 | R | 1,971 | 2,965 | 4,958 | |
| 2000 | D | 2,230 | 2,033 | 4,306 | |
| 1996 | D | 2,069 | 1,561 | 4,015 | |
| 1992 | D | 1,818 | 1,429 | 3,878 | |
| 1988 | R | 1,543 | 1,781 | 3,340 | |
| 1984 | R | 1,441 | 1,939 | 3,385 | |
| 1980 | D | 1,560 | 1,210 | 2,854 | |
| 1976 | D | 1,666 | 909 | 2,580 | |
| 1972 | R | 723 | 1,299 | 2,076 | |
| 1968 | D | 1,023 | 468 | 3,045 | |
| 1964 | D | 1,458 | 941 | 2,399 | |
| 1960 | D | 1,460 | 637 | 2,097 | |
| 1956 | D | 1,022 | 709 | 1,731 | |
| 1952 | D | 1,245 | 644 | 1,889 | |
| 1948 | D | 849 | 135 | 1,060 | |
| 1944 | D | 960 | 266 | 1,226 | |
| 1940 | D | 1,176 | 228 | 1,404 | |
| 1936 | D | 970 | 161 | 1,131 | |
| 1932 | D | 1,280 | 225 | 1,507 | |
| 1928 | D | 609 | 600 | 1,209 | |
| 1924 | D | 550 | 295 | 853 | |
| 1920 | D | 1,042 | 487 | 1,529 | |
| 1916 | D | 645 | 288 | 934 | |
| 1912 | D | 647 | 228 | 919 | |
| 1908 | D | 568 | 502 | 1,070 | |
| 1904 | D | 610 | 378 | 989 | |
| 1900 | R | 830 | 846 | 1,676 | |
| 1896 | R | 793 | 1,016 | 1,817 | |
| 1892 | R | 490 | 834 | 1,605 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Perquimans sits along North Carolina's northeastern coastal plain, where a rural, majority-white population has shifted steadily rightward over two decades — landing at R+39.3 in 2024, roughly double its margin from the early 2000s.
The unraveling was not abrupt. The Democratic margin in Perquimans County peaked at seventy-two points in 1936; 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 twenty points. By 2024, the margin had settled into deep Republican territory.
The economic and demographic context is severe. Perquimans County's median household income of $67,917 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 Montgomery County and Seminole County.