Editing Webster Parish, Louisiana (section)

==Law, government, and politics==
In 1996, the Webster Parish Police Jury approved a $1,849,000 bid to the firm Finney Co. of Shreveport for construction of a new parish library facility on Est and West Street in Minden.<ref>"Library bid approved", ''Minden Profess-Herald'', March 12, 1996, p 1.</ref>

Webster Parish is generally competitive in most contested elections. The parish voted for Republican [[Barry Goldwater]] for president in 1964 and [[George Wallace]] in 1968, when the former [[governor of Alabama]] ran on the [[American Independent Party]] ticket. [[Richard Nixon]] won here in 1972, and [[Jimmy Carter]] of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] prevailed in 1976. In 1984, [[U.S. President]] [[Ronald Reagan]] won the parish by a nearly two-to-one margin over former [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[Walter F. Mondale]].<ref>Marilyn Miller, "Webster follows trend", ''[[Minden Press-Herald]]'', November 7, 1984, p. 1</ref>

In 2000, [[governor of Texas|Governor]] [[George W. Bush]] of [[Texas]] won in Webster Parish with 9,420 votes (55.1 percent), compared to then Vice President [[Al Gore]]'s 7,197 (42.1 percent). [[Patrick Buchanan]] of the [[Reform Party (United States)|Reform Party]] held 183 votes (1.1 percent).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/11072000/11072000_60.html|title=Webster Parish election returns, November 7, 2000|publisher=staticresults.sos.la.gov|access-date=November 17, 2012}}</ref> In 2004, Bush again won the parish, having polled 11,070 votes (60 percent) to Democrat [[John Kerry]]'s 6,833 (37 percent).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/11022004/11022004_60.html|title=Webster Parish election returns, November 2, 2004|publisher=staticresults.sos.la.gov|access-date=November 17, 2012}}</ref>

In 2008, U.S. Senator [[John McCain]] of [[Arizona]] carried Webster Parish with 11,417 votes (62.5 percent), compared to [[Barack Obama]]'s 6,610 (36.2 percent).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/11042008/11042008_60.html|title=Webster Parish presidential election returns, November 4, 2008|publisher=staticresults.sos.la.gov|access-date=November 11, 2012}}</ref> Four years later in 2012, Republican [[Mitt Romney]] led in the parish with 11,400 votes (61.9 percent), 17 fewer ballots than McCain had received. In 2012, President Obama polled 6,802 votes (36.9 percent), 192 more than his 2008 tabulation.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/11062012/11062012_60.html|title=Webster Parish presidential election returns, November 6, 2012|publisher=staticresults.sos.la.gov|access-date=November 11, 2012}}</ref>

The last Democrat hence to have won in Webster Parish at the presidential level was [[Bill Clinton]] in 1996, who received 9,688 (55.3 percent), compared to Republican [[Robert Dole]]'s 6,153 ballots (35.1 percent). [[Ross Perot]], founder of the Reform Party, held 1,324 votes (7.6 percent). In that same election, the Democrat [[Mary Landrieu]] carried Webster Parish in her successful U.S. Senate race against Republican [[Woody Jenkins]], 8,459 (51.3 percent) to 8,020 (48.7 percent).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/11051996/11051996_60.html|title=Webster Parish election returns, November 5, 1996|publisher=staticresults.sos.la.gov|access-date=November 17, 2012}}</ref>

{{PresHead|place=Webster Parish, Louisiana|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 7, 2018}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|10,965|5,053|187|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|11,830|6,172|214|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|11,542|6,260|343|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|11,400|6,802|214|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|11,417|6,610|243|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|11,070|6,833|546|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|9,420|7,197|473|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|6,153|9,688|1,676|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|6,640|8,380|3,244|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|10,204|7,434|167|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|12,055|6,509|113|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1980|Republican|8,865|8,568|214|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1976|Republican|7,550|7,286|181|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|8,829|2,859|661|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1968|American Independent|2,496|2,871|8,646|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1964|Republican|8,177|1,755|0|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1960|Dixiecrat|3,139|1,273|3,255|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1956|Republican|3,280|2,352|1,101|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1952|Democratic|3,442|4,544|0|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1948|Dixiecrat|455|1,933|2,903|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|899|3,655|0|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|332|3,777|4|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|301|2,799|6|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|73|3,020|0|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1928|Democratic|356|1,430|0|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1924|Democratic|52|929|52|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1920|Democratic|112|1,009|0|Louisiana}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|6|1,040|2|Louisiana}}
{{PresFoot|1912|Democratic|9|696|124|Louisiana}}