Fact check: Which counties in Illinois had the highest percentage of Trump voters in 2024?

1. What the data claims about the top Trump counties — a clear Downstate dominance

Multiple post-election county breakdowns identify Wayne and Cumberland counties as among the highest-percentage Trump counties in Illinois, with Wayne cited at nearly 85% and Cumberland described as “over 80%” for Trump, illustrating the magnitude of GOP dominance in certain rural Downstate communities ^{[1] [2]}. Reporting also highlights a second tier of strong Trump counties — Grundy (64.2%), McHenry (52.6%), and Kendall (48.12%) — signaling that Trump’s strongest performances were concentrated outside the Chicago metro area and in mixed exurban and rural counties ^[1].

2. Regional color — Central Illinois and the “19 of 20” narrative

Central Illinois coverage emphasizes a bloc-like pattern where Trump won the vast majority of counties, with one outlet reporting he carried 19 of 20 Central Illinois counties and averaged about 69% per county in that region; Cumberland was singled out as the Central Illinois county with the single highest percentage above 80% ^[2]. This framing portrays Central Illinois as a GOP stronghold, and the reporting stresses raw county averages and vote totals — 254,000 of 432,000 ballots in that regional sample — to underline the scale of Republican strength there ^[2].

3. Conflicting coverage and gaps — what outlets did and did not report

Not all outlets published full county-by-county lists, and several articles focused on statewide trends rather than enumerating the top counties; those stories nevertheless note substantial GOP gains and suburban improvements for Trump without offering the granular top-ten county list that a reader might expect ^{[3] [5]}. The divergent reporting styles create a partial picture: some pieces give exact percentages for named counties, while others prioritize narrative about the tighter statewide margin and improved suburban performance, leaving verification dependent on cross-checking multiple articles ^{[3] [5]}.

4. Statewide context — close margins and historical performance

Analysts uniformly place these county results inside a broader statewide story: Trump’s 2024 Illinois showing was his best across his three presidential runs in the state, reaching roughly 45% statewide and narrowing the margin to about four points according to summary reporting ^{[3] [4]}. This context helps explain why Downstate blowouts mattered politically; the statewide tightening made gains in both suburban Chicago and rural counties electorally significant, even though Illinois ultimately remained a Democratic win on the map ^{[3] [4]}.

5. How to reconcile differences — methodological and agenda flags

The sources reflect different editorial choices: county lists and percentages appear in some outlets while others focus on narrative summaries, which introduces inconsistency in public reporting and increases the risk of selective emphasis. Some articles highlight dramatic rural margins possibly to underscore a GOP resurgence, while others stress suburban shifts to frame a broader competitive narrative; both choices carry political framing risks. Readers should treat individual county claims as provisional until confirmed by official canvass results or a unified county-by-county dataset ^{[1] [2]}.

6. Bottom line and what’s still missing — verification steps

Taken together, the most consistently reported facts are that Wayne and Cumberland counties produced the highest reported Trump percentages (near 85% and >80%), followed by Grundy, McHenry, Kendall and multiple other Downstate counties cited in article lists. However, the reporting sample is incomplete and inconsistent, so the final authoritative ranking requires cross-checking the Illinois state board of elections and individual county canvass returns to confirm exact percentages and ordering; the current media synthesis should be treated as a strong but not final account ^{[1] [2] [4]}.