Editing Herkimer County, New York (section)

==Government and politics==
{{Expand section|date=December 2009}}
{{PresHead|place=Herkimer County, New York|source=<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|first=David|last=Leip|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=May 7, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323225526/https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/|archive-date=March 23, 2018}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|19,557|9,110|190|New York}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|18,871|9,939|512|New York}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|16,699|8,083|1,473|New York}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|13,282|11,273|485|New York}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|14,619|12,094|471|New York}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|16,024|11,675|611|New York}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|14,147|12,224|1,334|New York}}
{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|10,085|11,910|4,631|New York}}
{{PresRow|1992|Republican|12,052|10,880|7,007|New York}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|15,104|12,694|224|New York}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|18,827|10,346|85|New York}}
{{PresRow|1980|Republican|14,105|11,497|2,286|New York}}
{{PresRow|1976|Republican|15,362|12,875|140|New York}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|20,194|9,487|86|New York}}
{{PresRow|1968|Republican|15,192|10,940|1,533|New York}}
{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|10,159|20,136|22|New York}}
{{PresRow|1960|Republican|17,758|14,977|33|New York}}
{{PresRow|1956|Republican|22,246|8,789|0|New York}}
{{PresRow|1952|Republican|20,980|11,599|70|New York}}
{{PresRow|1948|Republican|14,688|12,577|1,073|New York}}
{{PresRow|1944|Republican|15,656|12,381|48|New York}}
{{PresRow|1940|Republican|17,590|13,013|54|New York}}
{{PresRow|1936|Republican|15,941|12,847|341|New York}}
{{PresRow|1932|Republican|15,158|11,194|438|New York}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|18,624|10,654|431|New York}}
{{PresRow|1924|Republican|15,625|6,464|1,474|New York}}
{{PresRow|1920|Republican|14,310|6,507|1,107|New York}}
{{PresRow|1916|Republican|7,934|6,271|375|New York}}
{{PresRow|1912|Democratic|4,665|5,122|3,793|New York}}
{{PresRow|1908|Republican|8,202|5,918|559|New York}}
{{PresRow|1904|Republican|8,319|5,827|499|New York}}
{{PresRow|1900|Republican|8,100|5,401|521|New York}}
{{PresRow|1896|Republican|8,096|5,027|422|New York}}
{{PresRow|1892|Republican|6,219|5,526|709|New York}}
{{PresRow|1888|Republican|6,683|5,611|346|New York}}
{{PresRow|1884|Republican|6,138|5,329|384|New York}}
|}

Herkimer County is one of the most Republican counties in New York. Since 1884, it has voted for a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] presidential candidate only three times, with [[vote splitting]] due to a third-party candidate playing a role in two of those races. In the [[Donald Trump|Trump]] era, the county's Republican tilt has increased, with the 2020 and 2024 elections being the strongest performance for the party there since [[Richard Nixon|Nixon]]'s 1972 landslide.<ref>https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/</ref> Since 2022, the entire county is within [[New York's 21st congressional district]], presently held by Republican [[Elise Stefanik]].

The Herkimer County Legislature consists of 17 members, each elected from [[single-member district]]s. {{As of|2023}} the county legislature is almost entirely [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]: the single Democratic legislator also ran on the [[Conservative Party of New York State|Conservative Party]] line.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Election Results, Board of Elections|url=https://www.herkimercounty.org/government/board-of-elections/election-results.php|access-date=February 25, 2022|website=Herkimer County NY|language=en|archive-date=February 25, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225225046/https://www.herkimercounty.org/government/board-of-elections/election-results.php|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In January 2025, the chairman of the Herkimer County Legislature took a plea deal settling charges from May 2024 of drug possession, an [[open-container law]] violation, and failing to safely store a firearm.<ref name="s983">{{cite web | last=Mills | first=Sean I. | title=Herkimer County legislator sentenced to house arrest for drug possession | website=Rome Sentinel | date=2025-01-08 | url=https://www.romesentinel.com/news/ilion-court-robert-hollum-drug-possession-sentencing/article_23540fe4-da73-11ef-9df4-47dbaf1ff4be.html | access-date=2025-01-25}}</ref> On May 1, 2025, after being arrested for parole violation, he stepped down as chairman.<ref name="e289">{{cite web | last=Mills | first=Sean I. | title=Herkimer Legislature Chairman Hollum resigns from behind bars | website=Rome Sentinel | date=2025-01-08 | url=https://www.romesentinel.com/news/herkimer-county-legislature-chairman-hollum-resigns/article_08da3af9-7400-4287-917d-58543273ce32.html | access-date=2025-05-01}}</ref>