Editing Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri (section)

====Political culture====
{{PresHead|place=Ste. Genevieve 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|7,031|2,629|143|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|6,630|2,713|155|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|5,496|2,542|474|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|4,055|3,813|202|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2008|Democratic|3,732|4,979|114|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2004|Democratic|3,791|4,281|74|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2000|Democratic|3,505|3,600|206|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|2,078|3,597|1,052|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|1,780|3,795|1,562|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1988|Democratic|2,532|3,612|20|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|3,245|2,723|0|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1980|Democratic|2,768|3,324|199|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|2,241|3,091|40|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|2,900|2,247|0|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1968|Democratic|1,937|2,225|440|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|1,316|3,768|0|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1960|Democratic|1,956|3,211|0|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1956|Republican|2,633|2,363|0|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1952|Republican|2,682|2,385|2|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1948|Democratic|1,567|1,984|17|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1944|Republican|2,214|1,878|6|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1940|Republican|2,750|2,098|8|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|1,664|2,446|72|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|1,109|3,087|19|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1928|Democratic|1,099|2,547|6|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1924|Republican|1,330|1,257|116|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1920|Republican|1,917|1,149|22|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|1,137|1,218|17|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1912|Democratic|1,100|1,138|74|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1908|Democratic|1,064|1,108|9|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1904|Democratic|986|1,163|18|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1900|Democratic|935|1,296|15|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1896|Democratic|903|1,245|5|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1892|Democratic|683|1,155|59|Missouri}}
{{PresFoot|1888|Democratic|776|1,167|52|Missouri}}

Unlike many other rural counties throughout Missouri, Ste. Genevieve was once a reliably Democratic stronghold in presidential elections. From 1948 to 2008, the county voted Democratic at every election except the national Republican landslides of 1952, 1956, 1972 and 1984. [[George W. Bush]] lost Ste. Genevieve County both times in [[2000 United States presidential election|2000]] and [[2004 United States presidential election|2004]]; in the latter election, it was one of only four county-level jurisdictions (the [[Independent city (United States)|independent city]] of [[St. Louis]], [[St. Louis County, Missouri|St. Louis County]] and [[Jackson County, Missouri|Jackson County]]) that voted for [[John Kerry]]. Unlike other rural counties throughout Missouri, Ste. Genevieve County was one of only nine counties in Missouri that favored [[Barack Obama]] over [[John McCain]] in [[2008 United States presidential election|2008]]. The Democratic dominant streak in Ste. Genevieve County, however, was broken in [[2012 United States presidential election|2012]] when [[Mitt Romney]] carried it by three points over incumbent President Obama. This was the first time that a Republican presidential nominee had won Ste. Genevieve County since [[Ronald Reagan]] carried the county in his landslide reelection bid in [[1984 United States presidential election|1984]]. In [[2016 United States presidential election|2016]], Republican [[Donald Trump]], who received much more working class support than a typical Republican which could be seen across many working class and [[Rural America|rural]] counties all across the country just like Ste. Genevieve county. Trump won the county with 64%, the highest percentage of any presidential candidate since [[Lyndon Johnson]] in [[1964 United States presidential election|1964]] and the most of any Republican candidate ever.

Like most rural counties throughout Missouri, voters in Ste. Genevieve County generally adhere to socially and culturally [[Conservatism|conservative]] principles but are more moderate or [[Populism|populist]] on economic issues. Its character is similar to those of [[Yellow Dog Democrat]]ic counties in the South. 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 Ste. Genevieve County with 75.25 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 Ste. Genevieve County with 56.22 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 Ste. Genevieve 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 Ste. Genevieve County with 79.26 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.