Editing Bates County, Missouri (section)

===Federal===
All of Bates County is included in [[MO-04|Missouri's 4th Congressional District]] and as of 2022 was represented by [[Vicky Hartzler]] (R-[[Harrisonville, Missouri|Harrisonville]]) in the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]]. Hartzler was elected to a sixth term in [[2020 United States House of Representatives elections|2020]] over Democratic challenger Lindsey Simmons.
{{Election box begin|title=U.S. House of Representatives — Missouri's 4th Congressional District — Bates County (2020)}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = '''Vicky Hartzler'''
  |votes      = ''''6,539'''
  |percentage = '''78.88%'''
  |change     = '''+5.43'''
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Lindsey Simmons
  |votes      = 1,556
  |percentage = 18.77%
  |change     = -5.11
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Libertarian Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Steven K. Koonse
  |votes      = 195
  |percentage = 2.35%
  |change     = -0.32
  }}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin|title=U.S. House of Representatives — Missouri’s 4th Congressional District — Bates County (2018)}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = '''Vicky Hartzler'''
  |votes      = '''4,893'''
  |percentage = '''73.45%'''
  |change     = '''-0.24'''
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Renee Hoagenson
  |votes      = 1,591
  |percentage = 23.88%
  |change     = +1.83
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Libertarian Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Mark Bliss
  |votes      = 178
  |percentage = 2.67%
  |change     = -1.59
  }}
{{Election box end}}

Bates County, along with the rest of the state of Missouri, is represented in the [[U.S. Senate]] by [[Josh Hawley]] (R-[[Columbia, Missouri|Columbia]]) and [[Roy Blunt]] (R-[[Strafford, Missouri|Strafford]]).
{{Election box begin|title=U.S. Senate – Class I – Bates County (2018)}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = '''Josh Hawley'''
  |votes      = '''4,467'''
  |percentage = '''66.82%'''
  |change     = '''+23.37'''
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Claire McCaskill
  |votes      = 1,906
  |percentage = 28.51%
  |change     = -19.76
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Independent (politician)
  |candidate  = Craig O'Dear
  |votes      = 183
  |percentage = 2.74%
  |change     = 
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Libertarian Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Japheth Campbell
  |votes      = 89
  |percentage = 1.33%
  |change     = -6.95
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Green Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Jo Crain
  |votes      = 40
  |percentage = 0.60%
  |change     = +0.60
}}
{{Election box end}}

Blunt was elected to a second term in [[2016 United States Senate elections|2016]] over then-Missouri Secretary of State [[Jason Kander]].
{{Election box begin|title=U.S. Senate — Class III — Bates County (2016)}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = '''Roy Blunt'''
  |votes      = '''4,630'''
  |percentage = '''58.06%'''
  |change     = '''+14.61'''
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Jason Kander
  |votes      = 2,866
  |percentage = 35.94%
  |change     = -12.33
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Libertarian Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Jonathan Dine
  |votes      = 259
  |percentage = 3.25%
  |change     = -5.02
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Green Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Johnathan McFarland
  |votes      = 126
  |percentage = 1.58%
  |change     = +1.58
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Constitution Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Fred Ryman
  |votes      = 94
  |percentage = 1.18%
  |change     = +1.18
  }}
{{Election box end}}

====Political culture====

{{PresHead|place=Bates 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 24, 2018}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|6,702|1,563|95|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|6,597|1,672|169|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|6,001|1,618|464|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|5,020|2,557|194|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|4,833|3,271|179|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|5,004|3,398|64|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|4,245|3,386|161|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|2,904|3,224|1,009|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|2,499|2,993|2,238|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|3,574|3,332|24|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|4,223|2,889|0|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1980|Republican|4,061|3,297|163|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|3,350|4,288|46|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|5,314|3,020|0|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1968|Republican|4,087|3,370|801|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|3,514|5,162|0|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1960|Republican|5,429|3,906|0|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1956|Republican|5,467|4,300|0|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1952|Republican|6,002|3,995|2|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1948|Democratic|4,156|4,371|6|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1944|Republican|5,122|4,096|18|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1940|Republican|5,727|4,978|33|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|5,022|5,681|74|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|3,395|6,220|79|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|6,133|3,594|54|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1924|Democratic|4,552|4,722|389|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1920|Republican|5,039|4,433|236|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|2,597|3,255|204|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1912|Democratic|1,383|3,057|1,587|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1908|Democratic|2,754|3,248|247|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1904|Democratic|2,956|2,967|352|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1900|Democratic|2,731|3,591|634|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1896|Democratic|2,522|5,073|133|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1892|Democratic|1,928|3,007|2,039|Missouri}}
{{PresFoot|1888|Democratic|2,674|3,556|794|Missouri}}

At the presidential level, Bates County has become solidly Republican in recent years. Bates County strongly favored [[Donald Trump]] in both [[2016 United States presidential election|2016]] and [[2020 United States presidential election|2020]]. [[Bill Clinton]] was the last Democratic presidential nominee to carry Bates County in [[1996 United States presidential election|1996]] with a plurality of the vote, and a Democrat hasn't won majority support from the county's voters in a presidential election since [[Jimmy Carter]] in [[1976 United States presidential election|1976]].

Like most rural areas throughout Missouri, voters in Bates County generally adhere to socially and culturally [[Conservatism|conservative]] principles which tend to influence their Republican leanings, at least on the state and national levels. Despite Bates County's longstanding tradition of supporting socially conservative platforms, voters in the county have a penchant for advancing [[Populism|populist]] causes. In 2018, Missourians voted on a proposition (Proposition A) concerning [[Right to Work|right to work]], the outcome of which ultimately reversed the right to work legislation passed in the state the previous year. 75.43% of Bates County voters cast their ballots to overturn the law.