Clallam County's presidential election prediction streak ends

CLALLAM COUNTY, Wash. - A small county in Washington state has been America's last true bellwether in the U.S. presidential elections for the last 40 years.

Until the Nov. 5 election, Clallam County had correctly predicted who would become the next president since 1980, but the county's 11-election prediction streak ended after Donald Trump was declared the winner early Wednesday morning by the Associated Press and others. 

As of Tuesday night, 71% of the votes were counted in Clallam County and 54.3% of those votes were for Kamala Harris and 43.9% were for Trump. 

The county has supported the eventual presidential winner in 24 of the past 26 elections and 29 of the last 33.

Since 1896, Clallam voters have chosen the winner 29 times, favoring Republicans in 20 elections and Democrats in 13. The only misses came nearly 50 years ago, in 1976.

Clallam’s Winning Record 

A breakdown of the county’s voting history before Tuesday night:

• 2020: (D) Joe Biden
• 2016: (R) Donald Trump
• 2012: (D) Barack Obama
• 2008: (D) Barack Obama
• 2004: (R) George W. Bush
• 2000: (R) George W. Bush
• 1996: (D) Bill Clinton
• 1992: (D) Bill Clinton
• 1988: (R) George H.W. Bush
• 1984: (R) Ronald Reagan
• 1980: (R) Ronald Reagan

Clallam County Presidential Election Results (*: losing candidate)

• *1976: (R) Gerald Ford (Jimmy Carter)
• 1972: (R) Richard Nixon
• *1968: (D) Hubert Humphrey (Richard Nixon)
• 1964: (D) Lyndon Johnson
• 1960: (D) John F. Kennedy
• 1956: (R) Dwight Eisenhower
• 1952: (R) Dwight Eisenhower
• 1948: (D) Harry Truman
• 1944: (D) Franklin Roosevelt
• 1940: (D) Franklin Roosevelt
• 1936: (D) Franklin Roosevelt
• 1932: (D) Franklin Roosevelt
• 1928: (R) Herbert Hoover
• 1924: (R) Calvin Coolidge
• 1920: (R) Warren Harding
• *1916: (R) Charles Hughes (Woodrow Wilson)
• *1912: (R) William Taft (Woodrow Wilson)
• 1908: (R) William Taft
• 1904: (R) Theodore Roosevelt
• 1900: (R) William McKinley
• 1896: (R) William McKinley
• *1892: (R) Benjamin Harrison (Grover Cleveland)

Clallam County's next ballot drop is expected Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 5 p.m.

MORE FOX 13 SEATTLE ELECTION NEWS

Here's how many electoral votes each US state gets

Scandals and scoundrels: A look back at Washington's history of governors

VIDEO: Vancouver, WA ballot box explosion caught on camera

How this small WA county has accurately predicted 11 presidential elections

WA voter guide: What to know about the 2024 November general election

Everything to know about WA's 2024 initiatives on the Nov. ballot

To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX Seattle Newsletter.

Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national coverage, plus 24/7 livestreams from across the nation.