akashic
1876–2024
Ashland County, Wisconsin
Ashland County·Wisconsin

Ashland County has voted Democratic for as long as anyone can remember.

A north-woods county where tribal lands shape both demography and turnout

18762024·38 elections
Ashland County, Wisconsin · Royalbroil · Wikimedia Commons
Latest
D+5
in 2024
Archetype
Democratic loyalist
since the recent cycles
Population
16,080
2024 ACS
Most similar
Black Hawk County
IA · similarity 0.99
16 precincts · 8,955 votes cast
Harris · D+5
Margin
Turnout
Harris +50
Trump +50
Real precinct boundaries. Hover for vote totals.
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
2024D
+4.7%
4,6124,1918,955
2020D
+11.0%
4,8013,8418,757
2016D
+11.5%
4,2263,3038,032
2012D
+30.8%
5,3992,8208,372
2008D
+37.1%
5,8182,6348,574
2004D
+27.1%
5,8053,3139,199
2000D
+16.7%
4,3563,0387,890
1996D
+28.6%
3,8081,8636,798
1992D
+21.9%
4,2132,3728,393
1988D
+21.4%
4,5262,9267,482
1984D
+14.1%
4,6803,5178,268
1980D
+13.9%
4,4693,2628,685
1976D
+20.6%
4,6883,0457,961
1972D
+4.0%
3,7713,4787,411
1968D
+22.2%
4,1472,5577,155
1964D
+42.0%
5,3832,1987,591
1960D
+14.4%
4,6443,4708,127
1956R
−5.7%
3,6774,1217,819
1952R
−7.5%
3,8284,4518,320
1948D
+13.0%
4,1103,1357,509
1944D
+18.2%
4,6093,1837,839
1940D
+21.4%
5,5863,5929,309
1936D
+39.9%
5,9042,4398,681
1932D
+33.1%
5,4052,6468,328
1928R
−0.9%
3,5703,6397,372
1924R
−26.0%
4492,2727,004
1920R
−51.8%
1,0814,0055,646
1916R
−10.8%
1,5821,9983,844
1912D
+14.7%
1,4519373,493
1908R
−16.2%
1,5822,2594,167
1904R
−50.4%
1,0043,4064,770
1900R
−31.1%
1,5573,0344,743
1896R
−21.7%
1,7432,7384,586
1892D
+3.1%
2,4362,2834,914
1888
No data
1884
No data
1880
No data
1876
No data
Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
American
100.0%
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
Multiple ancestry combinations reported; no single grouping above 1%.
Sample size too small to break out by ancestry reliably.
American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander combined.
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
0.0%
speak English only
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Catholic & Orthodox
21.3%
Mainline Protestant
18.9%
Other Christian
4.0%
Methodist
1.2%
Pentecostal & Holiness
1.1%
Non-Christian
0.9%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 52.6% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Ashland County sits along Lake Superior's Chequamegon Bay and includes portions of the Bad River and Red Cliff Ojibwe reservations, giving it a Native American population share well above the state average that consistently influences its margins in statewide races.

The Democratic margin in Ashland County reached its widest at forty-two points in 1964. The margin in 2024 was five points — still decisive.

Ashland County's loyalty is rooted in its place. Median household income of $62,462, a 83% non-Hispanic-white share, and a population of 16,080 together describe a community whose political habits are deeply settled. The county's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of Black Hawk County and Bayfield County.