Editing Pulaski County, Missouri (section)

==Politics==

===Local===
[[File:Pulaski County MO Museum-20150715-8281.jpg|thumb|right|The old Pulaski County Courthouse, which is on the [[National Register of Historic Places|National Register]], is now a museum.]]
Politics at the local level in Pulaski County were traditionally dominated by the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], but [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] candidates have become increasingly viable in the years since 2002, when the first large-scale victories of Republican candidates began. That's generally attributed to the increasing number of military personnel who retire in the area and switch their voter registration to Pulaski County.

In 2002, Republicans Diana Linnenbringer, Dennis Thornsberry and Barbara Shackelford (now Barbara Thomas) were elected to the offices of county clerk, western district county commissioner, and county treasurer, defeating Democrats in those offices.

The trend continued in 2004 when Republican Bill Farnham defeated the Democratic incumbent, Eastern District County Commissioner Gary Carmack, and Republicans Don Mayhew and Loretta Rouse defeated two long-term Democratic incumbents, County Surveyor John Mackey and County Public Administrator Paula Long Weber. In state offices, Democratic State Rep. Bill Ransdall, who was term-limited and could not run for re-election, was replaced by Republican [[David A. Day|David Day]] who defeated the Democratic candidate, Clara Ichord, in what turned out to be a landslide victory for Day.

In 2006, the incumbent Democratic Presiding Commissioner, Tony Crismon, switched parties but was defeated in the Republican primary by Tim Berrier, who was subsequently defeated in the general election by Bill Ransdall. That year also saw a switch in party affiliation in the collector's office, where the longtime Democratic incumbent retired and was replaced by Republican Terri Mitchell, whose husband, Jim Mitchell, had preceded Ransdall in Pulaski County's state house seat. Kyle Bomar of Crocker challenged [[David A. Day|David Day]], Day was reelected to the Missouri House with over 65% of the vote.

The 2008 Democratic victories nationally had minimal effect on Pulaski County party affiliations, with retiring Republican Western District County Commissioner Dennis Thornsberry being replaced by another Republican, Ricky Zweerink; the only party affiliation switch was in the county surveyor's office where Mackey recovered his seat for the Democrats after defeating Mayhew. David Day was unopposed.

Two resignations occurred in 2009; County Treasurer Barbara Thomas resigned and Presiding Commissioner Bill Ransdall accepted an appointment by Gov. Jay Nixon to the Missouri State Tax Commission, which required him to resign county offices and numerous other positions. Nixon appointed Democrat Morris Roam to fill Thomas' Republican seat and appointed Democrat Don McCulloch, the retired Waynesville Police Chief, to fill Ransdall's seat.

In the 2010 elections, Roam chose not to run and was replaced by Republican Sue Rapone, who defeated the Democratic nominee, Ted Helms. [[David A. Day|Rep. David Day]] was again unopposed and entered his last term in the Missouri House of Representatives due to term limits. McCulloch was defeated by St. Robert Alderman Gene Newkirk, a Republican. Diana Linnenbringer retired and was replaced by fellow Republican Brent Bassett; no Democrats ran in their party's primary. Incumbent Democratic Circuit Court Clerk Rachelle Beasley was the only member of her party to win re-election for county office; incumbent Republican Collector Terri Mitchell had no opposition in either the primary or the general election. The prosecutor's office did not change parties, but incumbent Deborah Hooper was defeated in the Republican primary in a three-way contest, coming in third behind St. Robert City Attorney Kevin Hillman, the victor, and criminal defense attorney Jeff Thomas. Hillman went on to defeat the Democratic nominee, Wayne Gifford, in the general election.

In the 2012 elections, Democrat John Mackey chose not to run for re-election as county surveyor and was replaced by former surveyor Don Mayhew, a Republican who ran unopposed. Republican Sheriff JB King decided not to run for re-election and his position became the most heavily contested race in the county, with former sheriff JT Roberts losing the Democratic primary to Bill Anderson, who then lost in the general election to Republican candidate Ron Long, who had previously defeated Republican challengers Nick Pappas and Johnny Burgess. Incumbent Republican Ricky Zweerink was re-elected as Western District Commissioner while incumbent Republican Bill Farnham was defeated in a three-way primary race between himself, former county treasurer Barb Shackleford, and victor Lynn Sharp. County Assessor Roger Harrison was re-elected in the November election but died in an accident on his farm before taking office; his deputy, fellow Democrat Kim Skaggs-Henson, was appointed by Gov. Jay Nixon to fill the vacancy.

In the 2014 elections, most county officeholders remained unchanged except for the assessor's position, in which Democrat Kim Skaggs-Henson ran for election to the remainder of the term for which she had been appointed. She was defeated in that race by Republican Dan Whittle.

The [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] mostly controls politics at the local level in Pulaski County. Republicans hold all but two of the elected non-judicial positions in the county. Rachelle Beasley was re-elected as the circuit clerk and recorder of deeds. The other Democrat, County Coroner Mikel Hartness, did not face a challenge in his 2012 re-election race. He did not run for re-election in 2016 and was replaced by Republican Gary Carmack.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_Vbn1dWphQ5FSIZwljWDzJbsmpgudoQh/view |title=Election Results |date=November 8, 2016 |access-date=September 8, 2016}}</ref>

{{Missouri county elected officials
| name               = Pulaski County, Missouri
| assessor           = Dan Whittle
| assessorparty      = Republican
| circuitclerk       = Rachelle Beasley
| circuitclerkparty  = Democratic
| countyclerk        = Dave Ernst
| countyclerkparty   = Republican
| presiding          = Gene Newkirk
| presidingparty     = Republican
| district1          = Charles Bassett
| district1party     = Republican
| district2          = Andy Helms
| district2party     = Republican
| collector          = Terri Mitchell
| collectorparty     = Republican
| coroner            = Roger Graves
| coronerparty       = Republican
| prosecutor         = Kevin Hillman
| prosecutorparty    = Republican
| administrator      = Loretta Rouse
| administratorparty = Republican
| recorder           = Rachelle Beasley
| recorderparty      = Democratic
| sheriff            = Jimmy Bench
| sheriffparty       = Republican
| surveyor           = Vacant
| surveyorparty      = 
| treasurer          = Mack Wilkerson
| treasurerparty     = Republican
}}

===State===
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; font-size:95%;"
|+ Past gubernatorial election results
|- bgcolor=lightgrey
! Year
! [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
! [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
! [[Third Party (United States)|Third Parties]]
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|[[2024 Missouri gubernatorial election|2024]]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''73.17%''' ''11,197''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|24.05% ''3,680''
|align="center" |2.79% ''426''
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|[[2020 Missouri gubernatorial election|2020]]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''71.93%''' ''10,261''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|25.23% ''3,599''
|align="center" |2.84% ''405''
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|[[Missouri gubernatorial election, 2016|2016]]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''67.51%''' ''9,060''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|28.78% ''3,862''
|align="center" |3.71% ''498''
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|[[Missouri gubernatorial election, 2012|2012]]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''50.90%''' ''6,454''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|45.97% ''5,829''
|align="center" |3.12% ''396''
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|[[Missouri gubernatorial election, 2008|2008]]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|43.33% ''5,627''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|'''54.49%''' ''7,075''
|align="center" |2.18% ''283''
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|[[Missouri gubernatorial election, 2004|2004]]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''65.00%''' ''7,466''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|33.80% ''3,882''
|align="center" |1.20% ''138''
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|[[Missouri gubernatorial election, 2000|2000]]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''52.78%''' ''5,533''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|45.19% ''4,738''
|align="center" |2.03% ''213''
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|[[Missouri gubernatorial election, 1996|1996]]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|42.49% ''3,855''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|'''54.53%''' ''4,947''
|align="center" |2.98% ''270''
|}

Pulaski County is divided between three districts in the [[Missouri House of Representatives]], all of which are held by Republicans.
*District 121 — Don Mayhew (R- Crocker). Consists of Crocker, Dixon, and Richland.{{Election box begin|title=Missouri House of Representatives — District 121 — Pulaski County (2018)<ref name=MOSOS/>}}
{{Election box candidate with party link||party=Republican Party (United States)|candidate='''Don Mayhew'''|votes='''3,009'''|percentage='''81.02%'''|change=}}
{{Election box candidate with party link||party=Democratic Party (United States)|candidate=Matt Heltz|votes=699|percentage=18.82%|change=}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin|title=Missouri House of Representatives — District 121 — Pulaski County (2016)<ref name=MOSOS>{{cite web|title= County Results - State of Missouri - 2016 General Election - November 8, 2016 - Official Results|publisher=Missouri Secretary of State| url=http://enr.sos.mo.gov/CountyResults.aspx|date=December 12, 2016|access-date=April 29, 2017}}</ref>}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = '''Keith Frederick'''
  |votes      = '''3,879'''
  |percentage = '''100.00%'''
  |change     = 
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin|title=Missouri House of Representatives — District 121 — Pulaski County (2014)}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = '''Keith Frederick'''
  |votes      = '''2,144'''
  |percentage = '''100.00%'''
  |change     =
  }}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin|title=Missouri House of Representatives — District 121 — Pulaski County (2012)}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = '''Keith Frederick'''
  |votes      = '''3,681'''
  |percentage = '''100.00%'''
  |change     =
  }}
{{Election box end}}
*District 122 — Steve Lynch (R- [[Waynesville, Missouri|Waynesville]]). Consists of the northern part of Fort Leonard Wood and the communities of St. Robert and Waynesville.{{Election box begin|title=Missouri House of Representatives — District 122 — Pulaski County (2018)<ref name=MOSOS/>}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Republican Party (United States)|candidate='''Steve Lynch'''|votes='''5,661'''|percentage='''100.00%'''|change=}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin|title=Missouri House of Representatives — District 122 — Pulaski County (2016)<ref name=MOSOS/>}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = '''Steve Lynch'''
  |votes      = '''7,347'''
  |percentage = '''100.00%'''
  |change     = 
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin|title=Missouri House of Representatives — District 122 — Pulaski County (2014)}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = '''Steve Lynch'''
  |votes      = '''3,580'''
  |percentage = '''100.00%'''
  |change     =
  }}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin|title=Missouri House of Representatives — District 122 — Pulaski County (2012)}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = '''Steve Lynch'''
  |votes      = '''6,498'''
  |percentage = '''100.00%'''
  |change     =
  }}
{{Election box end}}
*District 142 — [http://house.mo.gov/member.aspx?year=2017&district=142 Robert Ross] (R- [[Yukon, Missouri|Yukon]]). Consists of the southern part of Fort Leonard Wood and the unincorporated community of Devils Elbow.
{{Election box begin|title=Missouri House of Representatives — District 142 — Pulaski County (2016)<ref name=MOSOS/>}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = '''Robert Ross'''
  |votes      = '''610'''
  |percentage = '''76.15%'''
  |change     = '''-23.85'''
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Bobby Johnston, Jr.
  |votes      = 191
  |percentage = 23.85%
  |change     = +23.85
  }}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin|title=Missouri House of Representatives — District 142 — Pulaski County (2014)}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = '''Robert Ross'''
  |votes      = '''390'''
  |percentage = '''100.00%'''
  |change     =
  }}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin|title=Missouri House of Representatives — District 142 — Pulaski County (2012)}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = '''Robert Ross'''
  |votes      = '''733'''
  |percentage = '''100.00%'''
  |change     =
  }}
{{Election box end}}

All of Pulaski County is a part of Missouri's 16th District in the [[Missouri Senate]] and is represented by [http://www.senate.mo.gov/mem16/ Dan Brown] (R- [[Rolla, Missouri|Rolla]]).  
{{Election box begin|title=Missouri Senate — District 16 — Pulaski County (2014)}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = '''Dan Brown'''
  |votes      = '''5,988'''
  |percentage = '''100.00%'''
  |change     = 
}}
{{Election box end}}

===Federal===
{{Election box begin|title=U.S. Senate — Missouri — Pulaski County (2016)<ref name=MOSOS/>}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = '''Roy Blunt'''
  |votes      = '''8,663'''
  |percentage = '''64.51%'''
  |change     = '''+18.87'''
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Jason Kander
  |votes      = 4,065
  |percentage = 30.27%
  |change     = -16.75
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Libertarian Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Jonathan Dine
  |votes      = 354
  |percentage = 2.64%
  |change     = -4.70
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Green Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Johnathan McFarland
  |votes      = 162
  |percentage = 1.21%
  |change     = +1.21
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Constitution Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Fred Ryman
  |votes      = 185
  |percentage = 1.38%
  |change     = +1.38
  }}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin|title=U.S. Senate — Missouri — Pulaski County (2012)}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Todd Akin
  |votes      = 6,094
  |percentage = 45.64%
  |change     =
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = '''Claire McCaskill'''
  |votes      = '''6,278'''
  |percentage = '''47.02%'''
  |change     =
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Libertarian Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Jonathan Dine
  |votes      = 980
  |percentage = 7.34%
  |change     =
  }}
{{Election box end}}

All of Pulaski County is included in [[MO-04|Missouri's 4th Congressional District]] and is represented by [[Vicky Hartzler]] (R-Harrisonville) in the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]].
{{Election box begin|title=U.S. House of Representatives — Missouri's 4th Congressional District — Pulaski County (2016)<ref name=MOSOS/>}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = '''Vicky Hartzler'''
  |votes      = '''9,820'''
  |percentage = '''74.10%'''
  |change     = '''-2.46'''
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Gordon Christensen
  |votes      = 2,796
  |percentage = 21.10%
  |change     = +2.70
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Libertarian Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Mark Bliss
  |votes      = 637
  |percentage = 4.80%
  |change     = -0.24
  }}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin|title=U.S. House of Representatives — Missouri's 4th Congressional District — Pulaski County (2014)}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = '''Vicky Hartzler'''
  |votes      = '''5,333'''
  |percentage = '''76.56%'''
  |change     = '''+7.94'''
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Nate Irvin
  |votes      = 1,282
  |percentage = 18.40%
  |change     = -8.85
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Libertarian Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Herschel L. Young
  |votes      = 351
  |percentage = 5.04%
  |change     = +2.01
  }}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin|title=U.S. House of Representatives — Missouri's 4th Congressional District — Pulaski County (2012)}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = '''Vicky Hartzler'''
  |votes      = '''9,080'''
  |percentage = '''68.62%'''
  |change     =
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Teresa Hensley
  |votes      = 3,606
  |percentage = 27.25%
  |change     =
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link
  |party      = Libertarian Party (United States) 
  |candidate  = Thomas Holbrook
  |votes      = 401
  |percentage = 3.03%
  |change     = 
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
  |party      = Constitution Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Greg Cowan
  |votes      = 145
  |percentage = 1.10%
  |change     = 
}}
{{Election box end}}

{{PresHead|place=Pulaski 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|11,579|3,765|260|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|10,329|3,740|372|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|9,876|2,922|784|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|9,092|4,199|280|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|9,552|5,249|199|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|8,618|3,551|52|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|6,531|3,800|200|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1996|Republican|4,089|3,783|1,207|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|3,793|4,113|2,082|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|4,642|3,446|24|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|5,330|2,865|0|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1980|Republican|3,998|3,707|166|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|2,865|4,370|32|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|4,243|1,903|0|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1968|Republican|2,555|2,303|718|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|1,856|3,383|0|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1960|Republican|3,285|3,096|0|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1956|Democratic|2,532|2,936|0|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1952|Democratic|2,678|3,026|8|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1948|Democratic|1,644|2,858|11|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|2,345|3,048|7|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|2,367|2,752|8|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|2,177|2,886|13|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|1,489|3,260|17|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|2,229|1,934|8|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1924|Democratic|1,578|2,127|162|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1920|Democratic|1,853|1,978|39|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|1,003|1,339|49|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1912|Democratic|631|1,268|339|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1908|Democratic|988|1,418|45|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1904|Democratic|837|1,190|17|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1900|Democratic|728|1,282|11|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1896|Democratic|802|1,410|4|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1892|Democratic|663|1,046|59|Missouri}}
{{PresFoot|1888|Democratic|662|1,048|59|Missouri}}

===Missouri presidential preference primary (2008)===
{{main|2008 Missouri Democratic presidential primary|2008 Missouri Republican presidential primary}}
Former [[U.S. Senator]] [[Hillary Clinton]] (D-[[New York (state)|New York]]) received more votes, a total of 1,385, than any candidate from either party in Pulaski County during the 2008 presidential primary.

{{clear}}