Editing Ashland County, Wisconsin (section)

==Politics==
{{PresHead|place=Ashland County, Wisconsin|source=<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|last=Leip|first=David|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=November 9, 2020}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Democratic|4,191|4,612|152|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|2020|Democratic|3,841|4,801|115|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|2016|Democratic|3,303|4,226|503|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|2012|Democratic|2,820|5,399|153|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|2008|Democratic|2,634|5,818|122|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|2004|Democratic|3,313|5,805|81|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|2000|Democratic|3,038|4,356|496|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|1,863|3,808|1,127|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|2,372|4,213|1,808|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|1988|Democratic|2,926|4,526|30|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|1984|Democratic|3,517|4,680|71|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|1980|Democratic|3,262|4,469|954|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|3,045|4,688|228|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|1972|Democratic|3,478|3,771|162|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|1968|Democratic|2,557|4,147|451|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|2,198|5,383|10|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|1960|Democratic|3,470|4,644|13|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|1956|Republican|4,121|3,677|21|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|1952|Republican|4,451|3,828|41|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|1948|Democratic|3,135|4,110|264|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|3,183|4,609|47|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|3,592|5,586|131|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|2,439|5,904|338|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|2,646|5,405|277|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|3,639|3,570|163|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|1924|Progressive (Wisconsin)|2,272|449|4,283|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|1920|Republican|4,005|1,081|560|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|1916|Republican|1,998|1,582|264|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|1912|Democratic|937|1,451|1,105|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|1908|Republican|2,259|1,582|326|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|1904|Republican|3,406|1,004|360|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|1900|Republican|3,034|1,557|152|Wisconsin}}
{{PresRow|1896|Republican|2,738|1,743|105|Wisconsin}}
{{PresFoot|1892|Democratic|2,283|2,436|195|Wisconsin}}
Ashland County is consistently Democratic. It has voted for the Democrat in every presidential election since 1932, with the exceptions of 1952 and 1956 when it backed Republican [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]]'s two successful bids for the presidency. The Democratic margin has narrowed in recent elections since the [[Barack Obama|Obama]] era, with [[Donald Trump]]'s 2024 performance of over 46% being the best by a Republican since [[Richard Nixon|Nixon]] in 1972. This was also the first time since 1972 that a Democrat carried the county by only a single-digit margin.<ref>https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/</ref>

Despite Ashland County's Democratic leanings, three consecutive district attorneys of Ashland County in the 1990s and early 2000s, each elected as [[Republican Party of Wisconsin|Republicans]], went on to hold major positions in state or federal politics. [[J.B. Van Hollen]], district attorney from 1993 to 1999, later served as United States Attorney for the [[U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin|Western District of Wisconsin]] in the administration of President [[George W. Bush]] and as [[Attorney General of Wisconsin]] from 2007 to 2015. Van Hollen's successor as district attorney, [[Michael Gableman]], who served from 1999 to 2002, was later a justice of the [[Wisconsin Supreme Court]] from 2008 to 2018. Gableman's successor as district attorney, [[Sean Duffy]], who served from 2002 to 2010, served as the [[U.S. representative]] for [[Wisconsin's 7th congressional district]] from 2011 to 2019 and is the current [[United States Secretary of Transportation]].