 Until the late 20th century, the county was a Democratic Party stronghold, aided by the state's having disenfranchised most African Americans at the turn of the century.As in much of the rest of the South, conservative whites, who comprise the majority of the population in the county, have shifted into the Republican Party.In 1972, U.S. President Richard M. Nixon became the first Republican presidential nominee in the 20th century to win a majority in Ouachita County.