Venango County has long been predominantly Republican. Only twice since the Civil War has the county selected a Democratic presidential candidate, and only Lyndon B. Johnson in his 1964 landslide has gained an absolute majority for the Democratic Party. In 1984, Venango County actually voted fractionally more Democratic than the nation at-large due to hostility towards Reaganomics in industrial districts, and in the 1992 and 1996 elections it came within two points and one point, respectively of voting for Democrat Bill Clinton, but by 2016 Donald Trump had gained 68.1 percent to Hillary Clinton's 26.8 percent – figures which were long typical of the county.
