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Akashic

state house district

Arkansas 97th State House District

Office (updates table and map)

President margin by year

Place winner margin

1876–2024 · D minus R

Full record · 1876 → 2024

2024

Boundary by 2024 margin · Precinct returns · VEST · MIT Election Lab

The precinct map shows the 2024 presidential vote; the timeline scrubs the district’s overall result across 1892–2024, on its current boundaries.

People and households

Who lives here

Exact values for this place, its state, and the United States.

Race · ethnicity · ancestry

Communities and origins

English9.3%12.3%9.5%

American8.2%7.5%5.3%

German4.4%9.2%12.5%

Irish4.3%8.9%9.4%

French1.0%1.3%1.6%

Scotch-Irish1.0%0.6%—

Scottish0.7%1.8%1.3%

Dutch0.4%——

African American†34.9%13.5%9.9%

African0.2%0.9%0.5%

Mexican4.3%6.3%11.3%

Puerto Rican0.2%0.3%1.8%

Hispanic or Latino counts residents of any race; the race groups count only their non-Hispanic residents, so the groups are mutually exclusive and sum to 100%. Expand a row to see ancestries reported within that group.

Age and life stage

Measure	AR HD 97	Arkansas	United States
Median age	39.3	38.8	39.1
Age 18–24	8.0%	9.4%	9.2%
Age 65 and older	19.3%	17.5%	17.2%

Household economy

Measure	AR HD 97	Arkansas	United States
Median household income	$57,213	$60,773	$84,427
Poverty rate	18.7%	16.0%	12.5%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)	19.1%	26.0%	35.6%

Housing and tenure

Measure	AR HD 97	Arkansas	United States
Owner-occupied homes	70.0%	66.4%	65.2%
Renter-occupied homes	30.0%	33.6%	34.8%
Median home value	$131,800	$188,000	$332,700
Median gross rent (monthly)	$865	$947	$1,413
Renters paying 30%+ of income	47.5%	44.8%	51.1%
Vacant housing units	18.4%	13.5%	10.1%

Getting to work

Measure	AR HD 97	Arkansas	United States
Mean commute	19.2 min	22.5 min	26.4 min
Commutes 60 minutes or more	3.1%	5.6%	8.6%
Drives alone to work	83.4%	78.9%	68.8%
Takes public transit	0.1%	0.3%	3.2%
Works from home	7.8%	8.8%	15.1%

Languages at home

Measure	AR HD 97	Arkansas	United States
Speaks a non-English language at home	4.2%	8.3%	22.3%
Spanish	3.4%	6.2%	13.6%

Religious landscape

Measure	AR HD 97	Arkansas	United States
Catholic	—	5.2%	18.6%
Evangelical Protestant	—	38.2%	16.5%
Unclaimed / not counted	—	42.5%	51.5%

Origins and service

Measure	AR HD 97	Arkansas	United States
Foreign-born residents	3.0%	5.4%	14.1%
Naturalized citizens	1.0%	1.9%	7.4%
Not U.S. citizens	2.0%	3.6%	6.8%
Veterans (18+)	7.0%	7.4%	6.2%
Income inequality (Gini)	0.486	0.479	0.483

American Community Survey 2024 5-year (CVAP, income, age, poverty, education, language, race, ancestry) · 2020 U.S. Religion Census (ASARB) — congregational adherents; unclaimed is the residual not counted by congregations · American Community Survey 2024 — housing and tenure (B25003, B25002, B25077, B25064, B25070), commuting (B08013, B08303, B08301), origins and service (B05002, B21001, B19083).

President results by year

Modeled candidate-vote estimate on current district boundaries

HarrisDemocratic35.0%4,014TrumpRepublican63.4%7,271OtherAll other candidates1.6%188

R+28.4

Lead: 3,257
Total: 11,473
vs nation: R+26.9

modeled Census-place estimatemodeled estimate

BidenDemocratic35.7%4,411TrumpRepublican61.0%7,545OtherAll other candidates3.3%407

R+25.3

Lead: 3,134
Total: 12,363
vs nation: R+29.8

modeled Census-place estimatemodeled estimate

ClintonDemocratic37.3%4,111TrumpRepublican61.5%6,781OtherAll other candidates1.2%137

R+24.2

Lead: 2,670
Total: 11,029
vs nation: R+26.3

modeled Census-place estimatemodeled estimate

ObamaDemocratic38.0%4,337RomneyRepublican60.7%6,934OtherAll other candidates1.3%144

R+22.8

Lead: 2,597
Total: 11,415
vs nation: R+26.6

modeled Census-place estimatemodeled estimate

ObamaDemocratic37.9%4,337McCainRepublican60.5%6,922OtherAll other candidates1.5%173

R+22.6

Lead: 2,585
Total: 11,432
vs nation: R+29.9

modeled Census-place estimatemodeled estimate

KerryDemocratic41.5%4,920BushRepublican57.5%6,810OtherAll other candidates1.0%121

R+15.9

Lead: 1,890
Total: 11,851
vs nation: R+13.5

modeled Census-place estimatemodeled estimate

GoreDemocratic41.8%4,387BushRepublican53.6%5,620OtherAll other candidates4.6%484

R+11.8

Lead: 1,233
Total: 10,491
vs nation: R+12.3

modeled Census-place estimatemodeled estimate

ClintonDemocratic53.8%5,822DoleRepublican36.4%3,934OtherAll other candidates9.8%1,060

D+17.5

Lead: 1,888
Total: 10,816
vs nation: D+8.9

modeled Census-place estimatemodeled estimate

Key facts

2024 presidential margin: R+28.4MIT Election Lab
Population: 30,1822024 5-year
Population density: 49 / sq mi2024 5-year · TIGER/Line
Land area: 619 sq miTIGER/Line
Median household income: $57,2132024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic): 55.9%2024 5-year
Black: 34.9%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino: 4.9%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin: D+91.0 in 1932MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin: R+51.4 in 1972MIT Election Lab
Most similar: State House District 98, AR · twin score 92.0

presidential history

Party record book

Arkansas 97th State House District · the strongest Democratic and Republican presidential performances recorded here, measured three ways.

1892–2024 (partial returns from 1876) · 38 presidential cycles · 38 with a vote-share denominator · 34 with a national benchmark

Largest share of the presidential candidate vote cast here.

Democratic

Franklin D. Roosevelt1932

94.8%

3,806 votes · D+91.0 · modeled estimate

Runner-up · Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1936 · 94.4%

Republican

Richard Nixon1972

75.5%

7,688 votes · R+51.4 · modeled estimate

Runner-up · Ronald Reagan, 1984 · 64.3%

Most votes

Largest number of votes cast for the party’s presidential nominee here.

Democratic

Bill Clinton1992

6,177votes

48.7% of the vote · D+11.4 · modeled estimate

Runner-up · Bill Clinton, 1996 · 5,822 votes

Republican

Ronald Reagan1984

7,976votes

64.3% of the vote · R+29.3 · modeled estimate

Runner-up · Richard Nixon, 1972 · 7,688 votes

Best relative to the U.S.

This Place’s margin against the national margin in the same election — positive when it leaned toward the party more than the country did.

Democratic

William J. Bryan1896

+88.2pts D vs U.S.

Place D+82.1 · U.S. R+6.1 · modeled estimate

Runner-up · John W. Davis, 1924 · +87.0 pts

Republican

John McCain2008

+29.9pts R vs U.S.

Place R+22.6 · U.S. D+7.3 · modeled estimate

Runner-up · Donald Trump, 2020 · +29.8 pts

current representation

Current officeholders

RMatthew ShepherdState House · 97

State legislative officeholder from OpenStates nightly current-legislator data.

U.S. House elections · 3 House

Senate and governor results are in the Office selector at the top of this page.

U.S. House

Each row is a county-allocated estimate of U.S. House votes for this district — county returns apportioned onto its boundary, not precinct-counted. “Vote lead” is the estimated local lead here, not necessarily the winner of the full contest.

Source · Akashic county-allocated estimate from certified county returns, House; not precinct-counted.
Year	Vote lead	Democratic	Republican	Total
2024	R	30.7%3,674	69.3%8,281	11,955
2020	R	32.8%4,152	67.2%8,515	12,667
2018	R	34.6%3,316	65.4%6,265	9,581

Arkansas 97th State House District sits in the Mid-South. In 2024 it voted Republican.

Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 91.0 points in 1932 and a Republican high of 51.4 points in 1972. Between 2020 and 2024 the district moved 3.0 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 28.4 points.

A population of 30,182, a 56% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $57,213 describe the district. The district's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of State House District 98 and State House District 34.

Political twins — state-house districts

The state-house districts whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.

State House District 98

% unaffiliated% Evangelicalelasticity

State House District 34

% Evangelical% unaffiliated2020–2024 trajectory≠ elasticity

State House District 46

% Evangelical2008–2012 trajectory% Black≠ % unaffiliated

Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.

District research tools

Open the source-auditable district brief for electoral baseline, electorate, current-cycle coverage, geography, official dates, and methodology. Open campaign intelligence report → · Browse all comparisons →

Cite this page

All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.

Arkansas 97th State House District. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-lower/05097/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.

License: CC BY 4.0

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Places within Arkansas 97th State House District

counties it covers1

Frequently asked questions

How did Arkansas 97th State House District vote in 2024?

In 2024, Arkansas 97th State House District voted Republican by 28.4 points (R+28.4), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 11,473 votes cast, 4,014 went Democratic and 7,271 went Republican.

When did Arkansas 97th State House District last vote Democratic?

The most recent presidential election in which Arkansas 97th State House District voted Democratic was 1996.

How many people live in Arkansas 97th State House District?

Arkansas 97th State House District has a population of 30,182 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.

What is the median household income in Arkansas 97th State House District?

Median household income in Arkansas 97th State House District is $57,213 — below the national median of $80,734. The Arkansas state median is $60,773.

What is the political history of Arkansas 97th State House District?

Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Arkansas 97th State House District from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 25 went Democratic and 12 went Republican.