Arkansas 85th State House District, Arkansas: Old Confederacy district. In 2024, voted R+36%. Democratic peak: D+67 in 1932.
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- R+36MIT Election Lab
- Political archetype
- Old ConfederacyAkashic typology
- Population
- 66,0482024 5-year
- Median household income
- $57,1812024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 82.7%2024 5-year
- Black
- 7.6%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 7.5%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+67 in 1932MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+49 in 1972MIT Election Lab
Constituent county margins for State House District 85, AROne cell per constituent county, colored by 2024 presidential margin from deep red (Republican) through neutral to deep blue (Democratic), ordered bluest first.
R+60D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
38 presidential elections
| Year | Won | Margin | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 8,593 | 18,724 | 27,946 | ||
| R | 9,273 | 19,193 | 29,182 | ||
| R | 8,128 | 17,224 | 26,005 | ||
| R | 9,114 | 17,176 | 26,891 | ||
| R | 10,497 | 17,711 | 28,865 | ||
| R | 11,911 | 14,350 | 26,512 | ||
| R | 10,458 | 12,609 | 23,726 | ||
| D | 12,684 | 9,020 | 23,905 | ||
| D | 12,420 | 8,508 | 23,766 | ||
| R | 7,531 | 12,730 | 20,892 | ||
| R | 7,582 | 14,006 | 22,421 | ||
| R | 8,263 | 10,392 | 19,621 | ||
| D | 10,370 | 6,863 | 17,279 | ||
| R | 3,438 | 10,301 | 13,939 | ||
| R | 3,734 | 5,067 | 13,392 | ||
| D | 7,653 | 6,571 | 14,280 | ||
| R | 4,181 | 4,756 | 9,206 | ||
| R | 3,590 | 6,224 | 9,954 | ||
| R | 3,410 | 5,182 | 8,626 | ||
| D | 2,485 | 1,509 | 4,723 | ||
| D | 2,374 | 1,366 | 3,743 | ||
| D | 2,202 | 940 | 3,151 | ||
| D | 1,935 | 804 | 2,762 | ||
| D | 2,807 | 550 | 3,358 | ||
| D | 1,864 | 1,796 | 3,670 | ||
| D | 991 | 703 | 1,873 | ||
| D | 1,103 | 697 | 1,915 | ||
| D | 1,108 | 698 | 1,806 | ||
| D | 691 | 198 | 1,338 | ||
| D | 885 | 730 | 1,700 | ||
| R | 531 | 564 | 1,107 | ||
| D | 621 | 467 | 1,097 | ||
| D | 967 | 464 | 1,482 | ||
| D | 961 | 621 | 1,673 | ||
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Demographics
Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
English
13.7%
Irish
12.5%
German
11.2%
American
6.2%
Italian
2.2%
Scottish
2.0%
French
1.5%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.
Age distribution by sex
Median age: 45.5 in this county, 39.1 nationally
Male
Age
Female
85+
75–84
65–74
55–64
45–54
35–44
25–34
18–24
5–17
<5
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Median household income
2024 inflation-adjusted dollars
$57,181
State House District 85 ranks near the middle of US counties.
State House District 85$57,181
Arkansas$60,773
United States$80,734
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Poverty rate
All persons below federal poverty line
15.8%
Children face moderate poverty.
Children under 1821.8%
Working age (18–64)14.9%
Seniors (65+)10.1%
Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
93.0%
speak English only
Spanish5.0%
Other Indo-European1.3%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.7%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 48.9% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.
With a 2024 presidential margin exceeding 53 points, this rural Arkansas district sits at the far end of the state's partisan distribution, leaving little electoral competition at either the legislative or federal level.
The shift began with civil rights. 2000 marked the realignment in Arkansas 85th State House District, by a nine points margin. The Republican margin reached its widest at forty-nine points in 1972. The 2024 margin was thirty-six points.
The political shift has tracked, in Arkansas 85th State House District, the political shift of the South more broadly. A 83% non-Hispanic-white share, a median household income of $57,181, and a 16% poverty rate describe the demographic context.
Compare two places, side by side
Twelve curated comparisons line up election history, demographics, and the divergence story for two places at a glance. Browse all comparisons →
Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
State House District 85, Arkansas. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-lower/05085/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0
Frequently asked questions
How did State House District 85, Arkansas vote in 2024?
In 2024, State House District 85, Arkansas voted Republican by 36.3 points (R+36), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 27,946 votes cast, 8,593 went Democratic and 18,724 went Republican.
What is State House District 85, Arkansas's political archetype?
Akashic classifies State House District 85, Arkansas as a "Old Confederacy" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 18 times, Republican 16 times, and other 0 times.
When did State House District 85, Arkansas last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which State House District 85, Arkansas voted Democratic was 1996.
How many people live in State House District 85, Arkansas?
State House District 85, Arkansas has a population of 66,048 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in State House District 85, Arkansas?
Median household income in State House District 85, Arkansas is $57,181 — below the national median of $80,734. The Arkansas state median is $60,773.
What is the political history of State House District 85, Arkansas?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in State House District 85, Arkansas from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 18 went Democratic and 16 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Old Confederacy" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.