| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | R | 2,231 | 5,197 | 7,490 | |
| 2020 | R | 2,313 | 5,347 | 7,806 | |
| 2016 | R | 1,835 | 4,892 | 7,027 | |
| 2012 | R | 2,492 | 4,780 | 7,387 | |
| 2008 | R | 2,665 | 4,579 | 7,359 | |
| 2004 | R | 2,400 | 4,275 | 6,724 | |
| 2000 | R | 2,646 | 3,495 | 6,279 | |
| 1996 | R | 2,586 | 2,983 | 6,026 | |
| 1992 | R | 2,948 | 3,616 | 7,462 | |
| 1988 | R | 2,446 | 4,407 | 6,895 | |
| 1984 | R | 2,429 | 5,012 | 7,468 | |
| 1980 | R | 2,889 | 3,432 | 6,515 | |
| 1976 | D | 3,343 | 2,943 | 6,361 | |
| 1972 | R | 2,302 | 7,745 | 10,341 | |
| 1968 | R | 1,531 | 1,930 | 4,377 | |
| 1964 | D | 3,385 | 2,992 | 6,389 | |
| 1960 | R | 1,561 | 1,728 | 3,299 | |
| 1956 | R | 1,645 | 1,794 | 3,457 | |
| 1952 | R | 1,432 | 1,574 | 3,009 | |
| 1948 | D | 1,451 | 879 | 2,462 | |
| 1944 | D | 1,561 | 628 | 2,198 | |
| 1940 | D | 1,465 | 423 | 1,904 | |
| 1936 | D | 1,364 | 311 | 1,682 | |
| 1932 | D | 1,252 | 307 | 1,583 | |
| 1928 | D | 922 | 630 | 1,552 | |
| 1924 | D | 1,036 | 440 | 1,506 | |
| 1920 | D | 784 | 344 | 1,134 | |
| 1916 | D | 489 | 184 | 677 | |
| 1912 | D | 405 | 86 | 566 | |
| 1908 | D | 405 | 187 | 599 | |
| 1904 | D | 297 | 133 | 443 | |
| 1900 | D | 787 | 281 | 1,081 | |
| 1896 | D | 413 | 384 | 825 | |
| 1892 | D | 465 | 235 | 716 | |
| 1888 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1884 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1880 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1876 | — | — | — | — |
Bristol straddles the Virginia-Tennessee state line, with the Virginia side functioning as an independent city despite its county-level classification. Working-class demographics and a manufacturing heritage have tracked closely with regional shifts toward lopsided Republican margins.
The Democratic margin in Bristol city peaked at sixty-three points in 1936. By 1980 the county had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was forty points, the most Republican-leaning result in the county's modern history.
The economic context is the key. Bristol city's median household income of $50,404 sits well below state and national norms, and 18% 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 Horry County and Cocke County.