akashic
1876–2024
Plainview, TX·Texas

Plainview, TX changed its political identity in living memory.

Anchor of the southern High Plains cotton economy

18762024·38 elections
TX
Latest
R+59
in 2024
Archetype
Realigner
since the recent cycles
Population
37,347
2024 ACS

Plainview, TX, Texas: Realigner metro. In 2024, voted R+59%. Democratic peak: D+81 in 1932.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin
R+59MIT Election Lab
Political archetype
RealignerAkashic typology
Population
37,3472024 5-year
Median household income
$52,8142024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic)
54.0%2024 5-year
Black
4.3%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino
60.9%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin
D+81 in 1932MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin
R+59 in 2024MIT Election Lab
2 counties · 0 D · 2 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
−59.2%
2,2618,99811,375
R
−52.0%
2,7178,76111,626
R
−49.0%
2,5367,84010,817
R
−47.7%
2,7948,01310,939
R
−44.3%
3,4388,95512,464
R
−58.4%
2,62310,05712,738
R
−51.7%
2,7388,69811,530
R
−26.2%
4,1907,43512,394
R
−30.7%
3,7087,77413,243
R
−24.2%
4,8938,02512,949
R
−39.5%
4,2259,76214,025
R
−29.0%
5,0879,32014,606
D
+5.4%
7,5716,79214,421
R
−50.9%
2,9769,23212,295
R
−11.2%
4,5986,16113,915
D
+25.7%
8,2934,89513,215
R
−10.6%
5,1326,36411,574
D
+3.4%
5,6155,24910,884
R
−17.9%
4,8146,92411,760
D
+60.4%
6,1691,3577,963
D
+54.8%
4,8221,0826,827
D
+58.2%
5,2851,3906,694
D
+75.8%
4,9726685,677
D
+80.7%
5,0055145,563
R
−30.6%
1,7643,3195,090
D
+57.4%
2,6436733,433
D
+58.3%
2,1205192,745
D
+77.9%
1,5081281,771
D
+71.0%
935481,249
No data
No data
No data
No data
No data
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
5.5%
American
4.0%
English
3.9%
Irish
3.2%
Scottish
0.9%
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
62.8%
speak English only
Spanish36.3%
Other Indo-European0.6%
Asian & Pacific Islander0.1%
Other languages0.1%
Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.
Religious adherents
Adherents per capita by tradition
Baptist
30.5%
Catholic & Orthodox
27.4%
Other Christian
8.4%
Pentecostal & Holiness
8.2%
Methodist
5.2%
Mainline Protestant
1.5%
Non-Christian
0.1%
Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 18.8% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Plainview anchors Hale County, a historically Democratic rural stronghold that shifted sharply Republican over the past two decades as agricultural consolidation reshaped the region's economic and demographic profile.

The unraveling was not abrupt. The Democratic margin in Plainview, TX peaked at eighty-one points in 1932; it narrowed steadily over the late twentieth century. The 1980 election delivered the metro to the Republican party for the first time in many years, by a margin of twenty-nine points. By 2024, the margin had widened further.

The economic and demographic context is severe. The median household income of $52,814 is among the lowest at this geographic scale; 20% of residents live below the federal poverty line.

Cite this page
All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.
Plainview, TX, Texas — The Long Memory. Akashic Intelligence — The Long Memory. https://tiers.akashic.app/cbsa/38380/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.
License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Plainview, TX, Texas vote in 2024?
In 2024, Plainview, TX, Texas voted Republican by 59.2 points (R+59), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 11,375 votes cast, 2,261 went Democratic and 8,998 went Republican.
What is Plainview, TX, Texas's political archetype?
Akashic classifies Plainview, TX, Texas as a "Realigner" metro based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the metro has voted Democratic 12 times, Republican 17 times, and other 0 times.
When did Plainview, TX, Texas last vote Democratic?
The most recent presidential election in which Plainview, TX, Texas voted Democratic was 1976.
How many people live in Plainview, TX, Texas?
Plainview, TX, Texas has a population of 37,347 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.
What is the median household income in Plainview, TX, Texas?
Median household income in Plainview, TX, Texas is $52,814 — below the national median of $80,734. The Texas state median is $78,476.
What is the political history of Plainview, TX, Texas?
Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Plainview, TX, Texas from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 12 went Democratic and 17 went Republican. The metro's archetype — "Realigner" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.