Editing Reynolds County, Missouri (section)

==Politics==

===Local===
The [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] has the most elected officials at the local level in Reynolds.

{{Missouri county elected officials
| name              =Reynolds County, Missouri
| assessor          =Rick Parker
| assessorparty     =Democratic
| circuitclerk      =Brandi Freeman
| circuitclerkparty =Republican 
| countyclerk       =Mike Harper
| countyclerkparty  =Democratic
| presiding         =Joe Loyd
| presidingparty    =Republican 
| district1         =Larry Pogue Jr.
| district1party    =Democratic
| district2         =Eddie Williams
| district2party    =Democratic
| collector         =Denise Smith 
| collectorparty    =Republican
| coroner           =Jeffrey N. McSpadden
| coronerparty      =Democratic
| prosecutor        =Ginger Joyner
| prosecutorparty   =Democratic
| administrator     =Mallory Fox
| administratorparty=Democratic
| recorder          =Myra Turner
| recorderparty     =Democratic
| sheriff           =Donald Horn
| sheriffparty      =Democratic
| surveyor          =Ronald Schwarz
| surveyorparty     =Democratic
| treasurer         =Wanda Corder
| treasurerparty    =Democratic
}}

===State===
Reynolds County is divided into two legislative districts in the [[Missouri House of Representatives]], both of which are held by Republicans.

*District 143 — Currently represented by Jeffrey Pogue (R-[[Salem, Missouri|Salem]]), consists of the extreme northwestern parts of the county and includes the town of Bunker.
{{Election box begin|title=Missouri House of Representatives — District 143 — Reynolds County (2016)<ref name=MOSOS>{{cite web|title=  County Results - State of Missouri - 2016 General Election, November 8, 2016 - Official Results|publisher=Missouri Secretary of State| url=http://enr.sos.mo.gov/CountyResults.aspx|date=December 12, 2016|access-date=May 10, 2017}}</ref>}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Jeffrey Pogue
  |votes      = 287
  |percentage = 100.00%
  |change     =
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin|title=Missouri House of Representatives — District 143 — Reynolds County (2014)}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Jeffrey Pogue
  |votes      = 161
  |percentage = 100.00%
  |change     = +36.44
  }}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin|title=Missouri House of Representatives — District 143 — Reynolds County (2012)}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Jeffrey Pogue
  |votes      = 225
  |percentage = 63.56%
  |change     =
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Shane Van Steenis
  |votes      = 129
  |percentage = 36.44%
  |change     =
  }}
{{Election box end}}

*District 144 — Currently represented by Paul Fitzwater (R-[[Potosi, Missouri|Potosi]]), consists of most of the entire county and includes Ellington, Lesterville and Centerville. 
{{Election box begin|title=Missouri House of Representatives — District 144 — Reynolds County (2016)<ref name=MOSOS/>}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Paul Fitzwater
  |votes      = 2,266
  |percentage = 100.00%
  |change     =
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin|title=Missouri House of Representatives — District 144 — Reynolds County (2014)}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Paul Fitzwater
  |votes      = 1,167
  |percentage = 100.00%
  |change     = +36.75
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin|title=Missouri House of Representatives — District 144 — Reynolds County (2012)}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Paul Fitzwater
  |votes      = 1,761
  |percentage = 63.25%
  |change     =
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Michael L. Jackson
  |votes      = 1,023
  |percentage = 36.75%
  |change     =
  }}
{{Election box end}}

All of Reynolds County is a part of the 3rd District in the [[Missouri Senate]] and is currently represented by [http://www.senate.mo.gov/mem03/ Gary Romine] (R-[[Farmington, Missouri|Farmington]]).
{{Election box begin|title=Missouri Senate — District 3 — Reynolds County (2016)<ref name=MOSOS/>}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Gary Romine
  |votes      = 2,308
  |percentage = 86.73%
  |change     = +26.93
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Green Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Edward R. Weissler
  |votes      = 353
  |percentage = 13.27%
  |change     = +13.27
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin|title=Missouri Senate — District 3 — Reynolds County (2012)}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Gary Romine
  |votes      = 1,791
  |percentage = 59.80%
  |change     =
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Joseph Fallert, Jr.
  |votes      = 1,204
  |percentage = 40.20%
  |change     =
  }}
{{Election box end}}

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; font-size:95%;"
|+ Past gubernatorial elections results
|- bgcolor=lightgrey
! Year
! [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
! [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
! [[Third Party (United States)|Third Parties]]
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|[[2024 Missouri gubernatorial election|2024]]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''82.09%''' ''2,424''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|15.81% ''467''
|align="center" |2.10% ''62''
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|[[Missouri gubernatorial election, 2020|2020]]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''77.72%''' ''2,501''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|19.67% ''633''
|align="center" |2.61% ''84''
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|[[Missouri gubernatorial election, 2016|2016]]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''66.30%''' ''1,969''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|29.59% ''879''
|align="center" |4.11% ''122''
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|[[Missouri gubernatorial election, 2012|2012]]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|39.43% ''1,239''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|'''57.13%''' ''1,795''
|align="center" |3.44% ''108''
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|[[Missouri gubernatorial election, 2008|2008]]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|37.73% ''1,223''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|'''58.65%''' ''1,901''
|align="center" |3.61% ''117''
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|[[Missouri gubernatorial election, 2004|2004]]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''53.61%''' ''1,746''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|45.13% ''1,470''
|align="center" |1.25% ''41''
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|[[Missouri gubernatorial election, 2000|2000]]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|46.29% ''1,416''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|'''48.38%''' ''1,480''
|align="center" |5.33% ''163''
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|[[Missouri gubernatorial election, 1996|1996]]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|30.81% ''886''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|'''66.93%''' ''1,925''
|align="center" |2.26% ''65''
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|[[Missouri gubernatorial election, 1992|1992]]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|32.39% ''1,034''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|'''67.61%''' ''2,158''
|align="center" |0.00% ''0''
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|[[Missouri gubernatorial election, 1988|1988]]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''50.45%''' ''1,528''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|49.19% ''1,490''
|align="center" |0.36% ''11''
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|[[Missouri gubernatorial election, 1984|1984]]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|39.46% ''1,308''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|'''60.54%''' ''2,007''
|align="center" |0.00% ''0''
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|[[Missouri gubernatorial election, 1980|1980]]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|43.02% ''1,389''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|'''56.89%''' ''1,837''
|align="center" |0.09% ''3''
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|[[Missouri gubernatorial election, 1976|1976]]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|39.71% ''1,175''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|'''60.19%''' ''1,781''
|align="center" |0.10% ''3''
|}
{{clear}}

===Federal===
{{PresHead|place=Reynolds County, Missouri|source=<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|last=Leip|first=David|website=uselectionatlas.org|access-date=March 26, 2018}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|2,560|472|27|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|2,733|529|36|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|2,406|540|92|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|1,931|1,157|114|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|1,782|1,418|87|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|1,896|1,449|19|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|1,762|1,298|71|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|903|1,631|426|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|776|2,014|535|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1988|Democratic|1,162|1,864|9|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1984|Democratic|1,330|2,026|0|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1980|Democratic|1,271|1,919|60|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|879|2,143|8|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|1,541|1,031|0|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1968|Democratic|898|1,245|438|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|530|1,835|0|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1960|Republican|1,139|1,044|0|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1956|Democratic|917|1,596|0|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1952|Democratic|949|2,124|6|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1948|Democratic|692|2,050|6|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|951|1,877|5|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|1,187|2,406|7|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|915|2,476|5|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|792|2,439|21|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1928|Democratic|1,247|1,582|6|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1924|Democratic|873|1,822|29|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1920|Democratic|1,173|1,837|36|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|592|1,209|48|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1912|Democratic|367|1,030|257|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1908|Democratic|544|1,052|46|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1904|Democratic|505|877|12|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1900|Democratic|451|1,027|3|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1896|Democratic|385|1,015|3|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1892|Democratic|281|903|9|Missouri}}
{{PresFoot|1888|Democratic|259|862|2|Missouri}}

{{Election box begin|title=U.S. Senate — Missouri — Reynolds County (2016)<ref name=MOSOS/>}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Roy Blunt
  |votes      = 1,780
  |percentage = 60.56%
  |change     = +21.17
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Jason Kander
  |votes      = 1,009
  |percentage = 34.33%
  |change     = -19.37
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Libertarian Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Jonathan Dine
  |votes      = 71
  |percentage = 2.42%
  |change     = -4.50
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Green Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Johnathan McFarland
  |votes      = 41
  |percentage = 1.40%
  |change     = +1.40
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Constitution Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Fred Ryman
  |votes      = 38
  |percentage = 1.29%
  |change     = +1.29
  }}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin|title=U.S. Senate — Missouri — Reynolds County (2012)}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Todd Akin
  |votes      = 1,247
  |percentage = 39.39%
  |change     =
  }}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link|
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Claire McCaskill
  |votes      = 1,700
  |percentage = 53.70%
  |change     =
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Libertarian Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Jonathan Dine
  |votes      = 219
  |percentage = 6.92%
  |change     =
  }}
{{Election box end}}

Reynolds County is included in [[MO-08|Missouri's 8th Congressional District]] and is currently represented by [[Jason T. Smith]] (R-[[Salem, Missouri|Salem]]) in the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]]. Smith won a special election on Tuesday, June 4, 2013, to finish out the remaining term of [[U.S. Representative]] [[Jo Ann Emerson]] (R-[[Cape Girardeau, Missouri|Cape Girardeau]]). Emerson announced her resignation a month after being reelected with over 70 percent of the vote in the district. She resigned to become CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative.
{{Election box begin|title=U.S. House of Representatives — Missouri's 8th Congressional District — Reynolds County (2016)<ref name=MOSOS/>}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Jason T. Smith
  |votes      = 2,236
  |percentage = 77.34%
  |change     = +11.95
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Dave Cowell
  |votes      = 587
  |percentage = 20.30%
  |change     = -6.20
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Libertarian Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Jonathan Shell
  |votes      = 68
  |percentage = 2.35%
  |change     = +1.07
  }}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin|title=U.S. House of Representatives — Missouri's 8th Congressional District — Reynolds County (2014)}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Jason T. Smith
  |votes      = 1,024
  |percentage = 65.39%
  |change     = +15.31
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Barbara Stocker
  |votes      = 415
  |percentage = 26.50%
  |change     = -3.62
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Libertarian Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Rick Vandeven
  |votes      = 20
  |percentage = 1.28
  |change     = -0.02
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Constitution Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Doug Enyart
  |votes      = 54
  |percentage = 3.45%
  |change     = +3.45
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Independent (politician)
  |candidate  = Terry Hampton
  |votes      = 53
  |percentage = 3.38%
  |change     = +3.38
  }}
{{Election box end}}

{{Election box begin|title=U.S. House of Representatives — Missouri's 8th Congressional District — Reynolds County (Special Election 2013)}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Jason T. Smith
  |votes      = 451
  |percentage = 64.99%
  |change     = -7.85
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Steve Hodges
  |votes      = 209
  |percentage = 30.12%
  |change     = +5.14
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Constitution Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Doug Enyart
  |votes      = 25
  |percentage = 3.60%
  |change     = +3.60
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Libertarian Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Bill Slantz
  |votes      = 9
  |percentage = 1.30%
  |change     = -0.88
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin|title=U.S. House of Representatives — Missouri's 8th Congressional District — Reynolds County (2012)}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Jo Ann Emerson
  |votes      = 2,301
  |percentage = 72.84%
  |change     =
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Jack Rushin
  |votes      = 789
  |percentage = 24.98%
  |change     =
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Libertarian Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Rick Vandeven
  |votes      = 69
  |percentage = 2.18%
  |change     =
  }}
{{Election box end}}

====Political culture====
At the presidential level, Reynolds County was a Democratic stronghold from its founding in 1845 through [[1996 United States presidential election in Missouri|1996]]; its only Republican votes (or indeed votes for any but the Democratic nominee) in this period were for [[Richard Nixon]] in [[1960 United States presidential election in Missouri|1960]] and then again for Nixon in his [[1972 United States presidential election in Missouri|1972]] landslide.<ref>{{Cite web|title=County winners, 1836-2016|url=https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZmDRzvm83BYurKX7LsrET-C7tcIsE5Em42Wt-gTydXk/edit?usp=embed_facebook|access-date=January 13, 2021|website=Google Docs|language=en-US}}</ref> In [[2000 United States presidential election in Missouri|2000]], [[George W. Bush]] carried the county for the Republican Party for only the third time ever, despite his narrow national popular vote defeat that year. The county has voted Republican in every subsequent election as of [[2020 United States presidential election in Missouri|2020]], with the Republican vote share declining only in [[2008 United States presidential election in Missouri|2008]]. The Republican vote share has not been held below 60% since 2008.

Like most rural areas throughout Southeast Missouri, voters in Reynolds County generally adhere to socially and culturally [[Conservatism|conservative]] principles but are more moderate or [[Populism|populist]] on economic issues, typical of the [[Dixiecrat]] philosophy. In 2004, Missourians voted on [[Missouri Constitutional Amendment 2 (2004)|a constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman]]—it overwhelmingly passed Reynolds County with 85.41 percent of the vote. The initiative passed the state with 71 percent of support from voters as Missouri became the first state to ban [[same-sex marriage]]. In 2006, Missourians voted on [[Missouri Constitutional Amendment 2 (2006)|a constitutional amendment to fund and legalize embryonic stem cell research in the state]]—it failed in Reynolds County with 54.15 percent voting against the measure. The initiative narrowly passed the state with 51 percent of support from voters as Missouri became one of the first states in the nation to approve [[Embryonic stem cell|embryonic stem cell research]]. Despite Reynolds County's longstanding tradition of supporting socially conservative platforms, voters in the county have a penchant for advancing [[Populism|populist]] causes like increasing the [[minimum wage]]. In 2006, Missourians voted on a proposition (Proposition B) to increase the minimum wage in the state to $6.50 an hour—it passed Reynolds County with 77.50 percent of the vote. The proposition strongly passed every single county in Missouri with 75.94 percent voting in favor as the minimum wage was increased to $6.50 an hour in the state. During the same election, voters in five other states also strongly approved increases in the minimum wage.

===Missouri presidential preference primary (2008)===
{{main|2008 Missouri Democratic presidential primary|2008 Missouri Republican presidential primary}}
In the 2008 presidential primary, voters in Reynolds County from both political parties supported candidates who finished in second place in the state at large and nationally. Former [[U.S. Senator]] [[Hillary Clinton]] (D-[[New York (state)|New York]]) received more votes, a total of 741, than any candidate from either party in Reynolds County during the 2008 presidential primary. She also received more votes than the total number of votes cast in the entire Republican Primary in Reynolds County.