| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 12,414 | 38,017 | 51,081 | |
| 2020 | R | 12,176 | 35,600 | 48,669 | |
| 2016 | R | 9,768 | 30,659 | 42,525 | |
| 2012 | R | 10,209 | 26,679 | 37,425 | |
| 2008 | R | 11,017 | 24,420 | 35,830 | |
| 2004 | R | 10,144 | 23,397 | 33,946 | |
| 2000 | R | 8,160 | 17,224 | 26,149 | |
| 1996 | R | 7,786 | 11,955 | 22,109 | |
| 1992 | R | 6,792 | 10,496 | 20,756 | |
| 1988 | R | 6,366 | 12,024 | 18,710 | |
| 1984 | R | 5,751 | 11,924 | 17,790 | |
| 1980 | R | 5,870 | 7,753 | 14,263 | |
| 1976 | D | 5,888 | 5,232 | 11,540 | |
| 1972 | R | 2,030 | 6,693 | 9,262 | |
| 1968 | R | 2,143 | 3,854 | 10,220 | |
| 1964 | D | 4,076 | 3,806 | 7,914 | |
| 1960 | D | 3,150 | 2,911 | 6,081 | |
| 1956 | R | 2,649 | 3,148 | 6,046 | |
| 1952 | R | 2,426 | 2,916 | 5,353 | |
| 1948 | D | 1,556 | 1,084 | 3,609 | |
| 1944 | D | 2,534 | 1,068 | 3,608 | |
| 1940 | D | 2,535 | 791 | 3,340 | |
| 1936 | D | 2,276 | 619 | 2,906 | |
| 1932 | D | 2,321 | 469 | 2,831 | |
| 1928 | D | 1,436 | 1,118 | 2,554 | |
| 1924 | D | 1,811 | 432 | 2,274 | |
| 1920 | D | 1,774 | 583 | 2,381 | |
| 1916 | D | 1,628 | 298 | 1,937 | |
| 1912 | D | 1,219 | 142 | 1,733 | |
| 1908 | D | 1,275 | 463 | 1,793 | |
| 1904 | D | 1,301 | 560 | 1,947 | |
| 1900 | D | 2,535 | 1,982 | 4,602 | |
| 1896 | D | 3,085 | 2,248 | 5,400 | |
| 1892 | D | 3,216 | 1,590 | 5,217 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Bedford County's R+50.4 presidential margin in 2024 places it among Virginia's most one-sided jurisdictions, reflecting a rural Blue Ridge foothills electorate where Democratic candidates routinely struggle to reach 30 percent.
The Democratic margin in Bedford County peaked at sixty-nine points in 1916. By 1980 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was fifty points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Bedford County's median household income of $78,937 sits well below state and national norms, and 8% 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 Eureka County and Stone County.