| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 332 | 1,395 | 1,741 | |
| 2020 | R | 409 | 1,434 | 1,860 | |
| 2016 | R | 397 | 1,344 | 1,793 | |
| 2012 | R | 466 | 1,339 | 1,816 | |
| 2008 | R | 682 | 1,618 | 2,316 | |
| 2004 | R | 525 | 1,882 | 2,412 | |
| 2000 | R | 488 | 1,589 | 2,090 | |
| 1996 | R | 706 | 1,246 | 2,066 | |
| 1992 | R | 677 | 1,308 | 2,365 | |
| 1988 | R | 876 | 1,459 | 2,343 | |
| 1984 | R | 684 | 1,888 | 2,586 | |
| 1980 | R | 800 | 1,809 | 2,655 | |
| 1976 | D | 1,356 | 1,255 | 2,627 | |
| 1972 | R | 465 | 1,837 | 2,305 | |
| 1968 | R | 820 | 1,174 | 2,558 | |
| 1964 | D | 1,503 | 1,056 | 2,562 | |
| 1960 | R | 1,064 | 1,180 | 2,271 | |
| 1956 | D | 1,274 | 871 | 2,151 | |
| 1952 | R | 1,039 | 1,118 | 2,162 | |
| 1948 | D | 1,115 | 234 | 1,452 | |
| 1944 | D | 943 | 358 | 1,458 | |
| 1940 | D | 1,066 | 330 | 1,397 | |
| 1936 | D | 788 | 191 | 993 | |
| 1932 | D | 851 | 104 | 958 | |
| 1928 | R | 142 | 410 | 552 | |
| 1924 | D | 166 | 63 | 250 | |
| 1920 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1916 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1912 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1908 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1904 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1900 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1896 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1892 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Bailey County's flat, agricultural landscape anchors an economy built on cotton and feedlots, and its small, majority-Hispanic population has nonetheless produced some of the widest Republican margins on the southern High Plains.
The unraveling was not abrupt. The Democratic margin in Bailey County peaked at seventy-eight points in 1932; it narrowed steadily over the late twentieth century. The 1980 election delivered the county to the Republican party for the first time in many years, by a margin of thirty-eight points. By 2024, the margin had widened further.
The economic and demographic context is severe. Bailey County's median household income of $61,420 is among the lowest of any county in the United States; 12% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Owyhee County and Colfax County.