Vanderburgh County forms the core of the Evansville metropolitan statistical area.

It was named for Captain Henry Vanderburgh, Revolutionary War veteran and judge for the Indiana Territory.

They are responsible for setting salaries, the annual budget, and special spending.

The commissioners are charged with executing the acts legislated by the council, collecting revenue, and managing the day-to-day functions of the county government.

Each of these elected officers serves a term of four years and oversees a different part of county government.

Only two Democratic candidates - George McGovern in 1972 and Hillary Clinton in 2016 - have failed to win 40 percent of the county's vote since 1928.

[9] In 2020, former Evansville mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel (a Democrat) carried the county in his bid for the office of Attorney General but lost statewide.

The county is located in the 8th congressional district, which was notoriously dubbed "The Bloody Eighth" because of its tendency to oust incumbents from both parties - since 1933, no Congressman has represented the district longer than 12 years in a row.

[10] As of the 2010 United States census, there were 179,703 people, 74,454 households, and 45,118 families residing in the county.