Navigation

How Door County Votes: Once solidly red, it’s now a tough call

When the tally came in for the 2016 presidential election, Door County had swung from blue to red, as it has several times during the last 30 years. 

Donald Trump won the county by 558 votes, 48.75 percent to 45.58 percent. But the county – at least as far as presidential races go – is no longer red or blue, but a shade of purple.

In both 2008 and 2012, Door County voters chose Democrat Barack Obama, with 58 percent and 53 percent of the vote, respectively. Prior to that, the county went for George W. Bush twice, both times with 51 percent of the vote. In 1996, Bill Clinton earned the nod with 46 percent of the vote. 

But for decades before that, Door County was solidly red, voting overwhelmingly for Repbulican candidates every year except 1964, when Lyndon Johnson won a narrow victory. In 1952, Door County liked Ike a lot, giving him 80 percent of the vote. 

The Town of Union was the reddest part of the Door County map in 2016, when Trump won 64 percent of the vote in the southern Door County community. The bluest part of the map was the village of Ephraim, where Hillary Clinton took 57 percent of the vote. 

The City of Sturgeon Bay, Ephraim, Sister Bay, Liberty Grove, Baileys Harbor, Gibraltar and the Village of Egg Harbor went for Clinton in 2016. Washington Island, the Town of Egg Harbor, Sevastopol and all southern Door County communities went for Trump.

In 2016, Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher earned 57 percent of the vote during his first race. Republican Rep. Joel Kitchens earned 58 percent. Each increased their total in 2018.

Republicans have held the 1st Assembly District since 1995. The last Democrat to hold the office was Larry Swoboda, who served from 1973 until 1995. Kitchens first won the seat in 2014.

In the 8th Congressional District, Democrat Steve Kagen held the seat from 2007 to 2011. Republicans have held it for all but six years since 1979.