Editing Stone County, Missouri (section)

====Political culture====
{{PresHead|place=Stone 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 27, 2018}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|15,357|3,620|202|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|14,800|3,506|214|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|13,158|2,887|600|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|11,787|3,923|337|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|11,147|5,029|269|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|10,534|4,578|77|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|7,793|4,055|303|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1996|Republican|5,223|3,497|1,441|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1992|Republican|4,035|3,256|1,905|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|5,080|2,889|32|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|5,706|2,119|0|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1980|Republican|4,780|2,210|219|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1976|Republican|3,457|2,358|27|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|4,180|1,094|0|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1968|Republican|3,006|1,004|455|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1964|Republican|2,377|1,835|0|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1960|Republican|3,201|890|0|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1956|Republican|2,939|1,049|0|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1952|Republican|3,172|748|11|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1948|Republican|2,222|892|7|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1944|Republican|3,080|737|1|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1940|Republican|3,598|1,041|8|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1936|Republican|3,366|1,366|13|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|1,748|1,911|29|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|2,972|559|12|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1924|Republican|1,871|626|363|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1920|Republican|2,749|672|79|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1916|Republican|1,525|621|122|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1912|Republican|946|506|829|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1908|Republican|1,376|477|138|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1904|Republican|1,219|337|102|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1900|Republican|1,182|573|60|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1896|Republican|1,094|827|7|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1892|Republican|805|279|223|Missouri}}
{{PresFoot|1888|Republican|854|303|105|Missouri}}

Like most counties situated in Southwest Missouri, Stone County is a Republican stronghold in presidential elections. [[George W. Bush]] carried Stone County in [[2000 United States presidential election|2000]] and [[2004 United States presidential election|2004]] by more than two-to-one margins, and like many other rural counties throughout Missouri, Stone County strongly favored [[John McCain]] over [[Barack Obama]] in [[2008 United States presidential election|2008]]. The solitary Democratic presidential candidate to win Stone County since the Civil War has been [[Franklin Delano Roosevelt]] in 1932,<ref>Menendez, Albert J.; ''The Geography of Presidential Elections in the United States, 1868-2004'', pp. 239-246 {{ISBN|0786422173}}
</ref> and even Roosevelt won by only 163 votes out of 3,688.<ref>Robinson, Edgar Eugene; ''The Presidential Vote; 1896-1932'' (second edition); pp. 226-227 Published 1947 by Stanford University Press</ref>

Like most rural areas throughout the Bible Belt in Southwest Missouri, voters in Stone County traditionally adhere to socially and culturally [[Conservatism|conservative]] principles which tend to strongly influence their Republican leanings. 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 Stone County with 79.87 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 narrowly failed in Stone County with 52.80 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 Stone 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 Stone County with 76.72 percent of the vote. The proposition strongly passed every single county in Missouri with 78.99 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.