| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 357 | 753 | 1,129 | |
| 2020 | R | 359 | 738 | 1,115 | |
| 2016 | R | 323 | 722 | 1,095 | |
| 2012 | R | 426 | 661 | 1,106 | |
| 2008 | R | 435 | 668 | 1,133 | |
| 2004 | R | 508 | 726 | 1,271 | |
| 2000 | D | 687 | 319 | 1,040 | |
| 1996 | R | 423 | 646 | 1,169 | |
| 1992 | R | 351 | 627 | 1,168 | |
| 1988 | R | 450 | 671 | 1,141 | |
| 1984 | R | 365 | 903 | 1,275 | |
| 1980 | R | 354 | 929 | 1,352 | |
| 1976 | R | 589 | 761 | 1,391 | |
| 1972 | R | 472 | 826 | 1,302 | |
| 1968 | R | 470 | 704 | 1,294 | |
| 1964 | D | 828 | 659 | 1,487 | |
| 1960 | R | 579 | 841 | 1,420 | |
| 1956 | R | 593 | 755 | 1,348 | |
| 1952 | R | 401 | 926 | 1,327 | |
| 1948 | R | 544 | 624 | 1,185 | |
| 1944 | R | 359 | 479 | 838 | |
| 1940 | R | 809 | 978 | 1,787 | |
| 1936 | D | 906 | 719 | 1,665 | |
| 1932 | D | 1,424 | 633 | 2,105 | |
| 1928 | R | 699 | 998 | 1,704 | |
| 1924 | R | 315 | 829 | 1,449 | |
| 1920 | R | 206 | 595 | 843 | |
| 1916 | D | 283 | 279 | 573 | |
| 1912 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1908 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1904 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1900 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1896 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1892 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Jackson County's roughly 3,000 residents are spread across nearly 3,000 square miles of western South Dakota rangeland, and the county has backed Republican presidential nominees by double-digit margins in every cycle for decades.
The Democratic margin in Jackson County peaked at thirty-eight points in 1932. By 2004 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was thirty-five points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Jackson County's median household income of $35,417 sits well below state and national norms, and 42% 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 Campbell County and McPherson County.