The first election in Delta County occurred on October 6, 1870, to establish control in the newly formed county. Cooper held its first election in 1881, establishing an aldermanic government. Around that time, the first county courthouse was built in Cooper. Delta County, in addition to Cooper, voted for the Democratic Party in every presidential election from its incorporation in 1870 until 1968. However, the Populist Party won numerous local and county government positions during the 1890s and the early 1900s. In the 1970s, politics in Delta County shifted, and most of the county began voting for the Republican Party.