The power of industrial and mining political systems turned the county towards the Republican Party between 1890 and 1932, even supporting William Howard Taft during the divided 1912 presidential election.Menendez, Albert J.; The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004, pp. 334-337 However, starting in 1936, the county realigned towards the Democratic Party, given its strong unionization in the coal mining sector, voting for the Democratic candidate in every election from 1936 to 2008 except Richard Nixon's 1972 landslide.
