| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 3,310 | 16,975 | 20,487 | |
| 2020 | R | 3,210 | 15,596 | 19,025 | |
| 2016 | R | 2,352 | 13,181 | 15,955 | |
| 2012 | R | 2,246 | 11,951 | 14,351 | |
| 2008 | R | 3,051 | 11,871 | 15,032 | |
| 2004 | R | 3,142 | 11,908 | 15,107 | |
| 2000 | R | 3,153 | 10,128 | 13,469 | |
| 1996 | R | 3,782 | 7,320 | 12,297 | |
| 1992 | R | 3,105 | 5,299 | 13,084 | |
| 1988 | R | 4,217 | 7,196 | 11,452 | |
| 1984 | R | 3,278 | 8,260 | 11,564 | |
| 1980 | R | 3,842 | 6,760 | 10,802 | |
| 1976 | R | 4,483 | 4,804 | 9,329 | |
| 1972 | R | 1,702 | 6,317 | 8,070 | |
| 1968 | R | 2,711 | 3,799 | 7,922 | |
| 1964 | D | 4,083 | 3,117 | 7,211 | |
| 1960 | R | 3,168 | 3,983 | 7,176 | |
| 1956 | R | 2,272 | 4,164 | 6,473 | |
| 1952 | R | 2,657 | 4,385 | 7,050 | |
| 1948 | D | 3,241 | 1,194 | 5,026 | |
| 1944 | D | 3,270 | 919 | 4,938 | |
| 1940 | D | 4,483 | 1,358 | 5,853 | |
| 1936 | D | 3,686 | 686 | 4,392 | |
| 1932 | D | 3,775 | 470 | 4,265 | |
| 1928 | R | 1,924 | 2,262 | 4,190 | |
| 1924 | D | 3,170 | 525 | 4,086 | |
| 1920 | D | 2,170 | 1,003 | 3,388 | |
| 1916 | D | 2,273 | 353 | 2,735 | |
| 1912 | D | 1,780 | 206 | 2,347 | |
| 1908 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1904 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1900 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1896 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1892 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Cooke County, anchored by Gainesville on I-35 near the Oklahoma border, has delivered Republican presidential margins above 60 points in each of the last three cycles, reflecting a predominantly rural, non-Hispanic white electorate with little urban counterweight.
The unraveling was not abrupt. The Democratic margin in Cooke County peaked at seventy-seven points in 1932; it narrowed steadily over the late twentieth century. The 1968 election delivered the county to the Republican party for the first time in many years, by a margin of fourteen points. By 2024, the margin had widened further.
The economic and demographic context is severe. Cooke County's median household income of $73,932 is among the lowest of any county in the United States; 14% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Lampasas County and Carson County.