akashic
1876–2024
Midland, MI·Michigan

Midland, MI was solidly Democratic for decades. In the last twenty years, it flipped.

Petro-chemical economy anchors a reliably red mid-Michigan corridor

18762024·38 elections
MI
Latest
R+15
in 2024
Archetype
Populist
since the recent cycles
Population
83,757
2024 ACS

Midland, MI, Michigan: Populist metro. In 2024, voted R+15%. Republican peak: R+67 in 1924.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin
R+15MIT Election Lab
Political archetype
PopulistAkashic typology
Population
83,7572024 5-year
Median household income
$77,7052024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic)
90.2%2024 5-year
Black
1.2%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino
3.4%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin
D+16 in 1964MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin
R+67 in 1924MIT Election Lab
1 counties · 0 D · 1 R
R+60
D+60
One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.
Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
YearWonMarginDemocraticRepublicanTotal
R
−15.2%
20,92628,57150,379
R
−14.6%
20,49327,67549,088
R
−19.2%
15,63523,84642,776
R
−15.4%
17,45023,91941,979
R
−3.6%
20,70122,26343,707
R
−13.9%
18,35524,36943,275
R
−15.2%
15,95921,88738,888
R
−3.8%
15,17716,54735,967
R
−7.2%
13,38216,14938,624
R
−19.3%
13,45219,99433,817
R
−33.0%
10,76921,52132,552
R
−17.3%
12,01917,82833,610
R
−18.8%
11,95917,63130,101
R
−26.0%
9,50416,47326,836
R
−29.2%
7,42814,32923,658
D
+16.5%
12,5879,02021,655
R
−35.2%
6,81514,23521,071
R
−49.7%
4,42213,20717,662
R
−45.0%
3,94510,50814,570
R
−28.3%
3,2045,8119,196
R
−31.3%
3,5696,85010,482
R
−24.0%
3,8346,26910,157
R
−1.0%
3,7513,8297,957
R
−3.2%
3,5533,7917,489
R
−64.8%
9644,5555,538
R
−66.7%
6254,0045,063
R
−60.5%
9594,1155,217
R
−17.9%
1,4542,1043,639
O
−7.4%
6719023,101
R
−37.5%
8751,9872,967
R
−45.0%
7662,1072,983
R
−18.2%
1,2211,7843,095
R
−0.5%
1,5071,5243,121
R
−11.0%
8151,0692,316
No data
No data
No data
No data

Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry
Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.
German
25.5%
English
14.3%
Irish
12.1%
Polish
7.4%
American
4.5%
French
4.0%
Italian
3.2%
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.
Language at home
Population aged 5 and older
96.1%
speak English only
Other Indo-European1.5%
Asian & Pacific Islander1.2%
Spanish1.0%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Catholic & Orthodox
16.8%
Mainline Protestant
9.7%
Other Christian
6.6%
Pentecostal & Holiness
5.5%
Methodist
4.3%
Baptist
0.9%
Non-Christian
0.4%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 55.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Midland metro's identity is inseparable from Dow Chemical's century-long presence, which shapes both its white-collar professional class and its economic conservatism. The area has backed Republican presidential candidates by double-digit margins in recent cycles.

The Democratic margin in Midland, MI peaked at sixteen points in 1964. By 1968 the metro had flipped, voting Republican for the first time in many years. The 2024 margin was fifteen points, the most Republican-leaning result in the metro's modern history.

The economic context is the key. The median household income of $77,705 sits well below state and national norms, and 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. The shift here is part of a broader realignment of working-class places across the country.

Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Midland, MI, Michigan — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/33220/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Midland, MI, Michigan vote in 2024?
In 2024, Midland, MI, Michigan voted Republican by 15.2 points (R+15), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 50,379 votes cast, 20,926 went Democratic and 28,571 went Republican.
What is Midland, MI, Michigan's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Midland, MI, Michigan as a "Populist" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 1 times, Republican 32 times, and other 1 times.
When did Midland, MI, Michigan last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Midland, MI, Michigan voted Democratic was 1964.
How many people live in Midland, MI, Michigan?
Midland, MI, Michigan has a population of 83,757 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Midland, MI, Michigan?
Median household income in Midland, MI, Michigan is $77,705 — below the national median of $80,734. The Michigan state median is $72,875.
What is the political history of Midland, MI, Michigan?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Midland, MI, Michigan from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 1 went Democratic and 32 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Populist" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.