Editing Ottawa County, Michigan (section)

==Politics==
{{PresHead|place=Ottawa County, Michigan|source=<ref>{{Cite web |last=Leip |first=David |title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections |url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS |website=uselectionatlas.org}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|106,133|69,653|2,727|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|100,913|64,705|3,095|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|88,467|44,973|10,408|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|88,166|42,737|1,854|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|83,330|50,828|2,381|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|92,048|35,552|1,043|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|78,703|29,600|2,296|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1996|Republican|61,436|27,024|6,956|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1992|Republican|56,862|22,180|17,169|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|61,515|18,769|445|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|60,142|15,000|326|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1980|Republican|51,217|18,435|5,832|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1976|Republican|49,196|16,381|793|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|42,169|15,119|1,288|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1968|Republican|33,356|12,431|3,555|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1964|Republican|24,512|20,151|72|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1960|Republican|32,678|10,617|128|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1956|Republican|28,611|9,459|130|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1952|Republican|22,328|7,835|494|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1948|Republican|16,028|8,789|471|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1944|Republican|17,077|8,511|198|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1940|Republican|15,462|9,152|170|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1936|Republican|11,114|9,579|952|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1932|Republican|12,076|7,981|643|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|15,417|2,524|94|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1924|Republican|11,688|1,871|1,321|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1920|Republican|10,528|2,391|451|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1916|Republican|5,484|3,941|335|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1912|Progressive|1,825|2,036|4,885|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1908|Republican|5,642|2,429|445|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1904|Republican|5,908|1,553|382|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1900|Republican|5,324|3,050|184|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1896|Republican|5,188|3,550|199|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1892|Republican|3,643|2,996|530|Michigan}}
{{PresRow|1888|Republican|4,302|3,191|325|Michigan}}
{{PresFoot|1884|Republican|3,758|3,049|236|Michigan}}
Ottawa County has long been the most consistently [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] county in Michigan and one of the most Republican in the country. The last [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] presidential candidate to carry the county was [[George B. McClellan]] in 1864.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Presidential election of 1864 - Map by counties |url=http://geoelections.free.fr/USA/elec_comtes/1864.htm |website=free.fr}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=July 19, 2022 |title=In deep-red Ottawa County, religion, race spark civil war among Republicans {{!}} Bridge Michigan |url=https://www.bridgemi.com/michigan-government/deep-red-ottawa-county-religion-race-spark-civil-war-among-republicans |access-date=January 4, 2023 |website=[[Bridge Michigan]] |language=en}}</ref> In 1912, incumbent Republican president [[William Howard Taft]] lost the county to "[[Bull-Moose Party|Bull Moose Party]]" candidate and former Republican President [[Theodore Roosevelt]].

Being part of a local "[[Bible Belt]]", the county is very Republican even by the standards of traditionally Republican west Michigan. As a measure of how Republican the county has been since 1864, it has rejected Democratic presidential candidates even in national Democratic landslides. It was one of the few counties where [[Franklin Roosevelt]] was shut out in all four of his presidential bids, and was one of only three counties in the state to vote for [[Barry Goldwater]] over [[Lyndon Johnson]] in 1964. Lyndon Johnson won 45% of the county's vote, the last time a Democrat won at least 40% of the county's vote. During the [[1986 Michigan gubernatorial election|1986 gubernatorial election]], it was the only county not to back [[James Blanchard]] for a second term. [[Holland, Michigan|Holland]] is the only place where Democrats win the majority of residents, though Democrats have recently made gains in [[Grand Haven]].

In 2008, it was one of the only two counties in Michigan where [[Barack Obama]] did not win 40 percent of the county's vote, and his weakest county, being the only one where [[John McCain]] received more than 60 percent of the vote, as he won it by 24 points while Obama carried the state by 16.5 points.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/state.php?year=2008&off=0&elect=0&fips=26&f=0|title=2008 Presidential General Election Results - Michigan}}</ref> In 2024, [[Kamala Harris]] had the best performance of any Democratic presidential candidate in Ottawa County since 1964, though she still lost the county by 20 points. During the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan]], county officials and their families faced [[death threats]] following the introduction of [[mask mandate]]s at public schools, with conservative groups influencing the [[2022 Michigan elections]] to "preserve local heritage".<ref name=":0" /> A new county government that some described as holding [[Christian nationalist]] values was subsequently elected in the 2022 elections.<ref name="FAR" /><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Christian nationalism is gripping the nation — has it arrived in Ottawa County? |url=https://www.hollandsentinel.com/story/news/politics/county/2023/01/29/christian-nationalism-is-gripping-the-nation-has-it-arrived-in-ottawa-county/69842731007/ |access-date=March 3, 2023 |website=[[The Holland Sentinel]] |language=en-US}}</ref>

Perhaps the most prominent politician in Ottawa County History was Grand Haven's [[Thomas W. Ferry]]. Thomas Ferry served as an Ottawa County Clerk at age 21.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/312070 |title=Biographical directory of the American Congress, 1774-1949, the Continental Congress, September 5, 1774, to October 21, 1788, and the Congress of the United States from the First to the Eightieth Congress, March 4, 1789 to January 3, 1949, inclusive. |date=1950 |publisher=U.S. Govt. Print. Off |oclc=312070}}</ref> He went on to become a member of the [[Michigan House of Representatives]], the [[Michigan Senate]], the [[U.S. Representative|U.S. House of Representatives]] and the [[U.S. Senator|U.S. Senate]]. While in the U.S. Senate, he served as [[President pro tempore of the United States Senate|President Pro Tempore]] (during the [[44th United States Congress|44th]] and [[45th United States Congress|45th]] congresses).<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/40411130 |title=Biographical directory of the United States Congress. |oclc=40411130}}</ref> As Pro Tempore, he became, upon the death of Vice President [[Henry Wilson]] on November 22, 1875, next in the [[United States presidential line of succession|line of presidential succession]], and remained so until March 4, 1877.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bayh |first1=Birch |last2=Feerick |first2=John D. |date=March 1967 |title=From Failing Hands: The Story of Presidential Succession. |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2147319 |journal=Political Science Quarterly |volume=82 |issue=1 |pages=118 |doi=10.2307/2147319 |issn=0032-3195 |jstor=2147319}}</ref>