2005–2024: The Aberdeenshire Council wards of Tarves, Ythan, Ellon Town, Logie Buchan, Meldrum, Udny-Slains, Belhelvie, Insch, Chapel and Gadie, Inverurie North, Inverurie Central, Inverurie South and Port Elphinstone, Kintore and Keithhall, Newmachar and Fintray, Huntly West, Huntly East, and Strathbogie, and the Aberdeen City Council wards of Pitmedden, Bankhead/Stoneywood, Danestone, Jesmond, Oldmachar, and Bridge of Don.

The boundaries of the constituency stretch south into Aberdeen to the south-east, to cover the city's northern suburbs of Bankhead, Bridge of Don, Danestone and Dyce.

Oil, agriculture and tourism form an important part of the local economy, with most of the constituency's settlements around Aberdeen serving as commuter territory for the city, including the towns of Inverurie and Kintore and the villages of Balmedie and Newmachar, where there is rapid population growth, with many areas seeing their population double within the last decade.

Ellon, approximately 16 miles north of Aberdeen, is a coastal resort sitting on the mouth of the River Ythan.

When Gordon was first formed in 1983, it was narrowly won by Malcolm Bruce of the Liberals, with a slender majority of 850 votes.

Bruce subsequently increased his majority tenfold in 1987, before seeing it cut to just 274 in 1992, in new boundaries which benefited the Conservative Party.

The Scottish Conservatives took the most votes in the area at the 2017 local council elections, prompting party leader Ruth Davidson to say on a visit to Inverurie that "We won the local government election in Gordon this week, beating the SNP into second place.

Once it doesn't happen, it's very bad news for Ruth Davidson's credibility.”[8] Salmond was later unseated by Conservative Colin Clark at the 2017 snap election on 8 June.

The defeat of Salmond was a bitter blow to SNP activists in the North East who characterised it to The Guardian as, “So disrespectful”, “How could local people do that to him?”[9] However, in the 2019 election, Richard Thomson narrowly regained the seat for the SNP with a majority of 819 (1.4%), meaning the seat remains an SNP-Conservative marginal.