Editing Webster County, Missouri (section)

==Politics==

===Local===
{{Missouri county elected officials
| name              =Webster County, Missouri
| assessor          =Austin Graybill 
| assessorparty     =Republican
| circuitclerk      =Stephanie Vestal
| circuitclerkparty =Republican
| countyclerk       =Stanley D. Whitehurst
| countyclerkparty  =Republican
| presiding         =Paul Ipock
| presidingparty    =Republican
| district1         =Dale Fraker
| district1party    =Republican
| district2         =Randy Owens
| district2party    =Republican
| collector         =Kevin Farr
| collectorparty    =Republican
| coroner           =Michael Taylor
| coronerparty      =Republican
| prosecutor        =Ben Berkstresser
| prosecutorparty   =Republican
| administrator     =Danielle Boggs
| administratorparty=Republican
| recorder          =Stacy Atkison
| recorderparty     =Republican
| sheriff           =Roye Cole
| sheriffparty      =Republican
| surveyor          =Gary Drennan
| surveyorparty     =Republican
| treasurer         =Todd Hungerford
| treasurerparty    =Republican
}}
The [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] predominantly controls politics at the local level in Webster County. Republicans hold all of the elected positions in the county.
{{clear}}

===State===
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; font-size:95%;"
|+ Past gubernatorial elections results
|- bgcolor=lightgrey
! Year
! [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
! [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
! [[Third party (U.S. politics)|Third parties]]
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|[[2024 Missouri gubernatorial election|2024]]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''78.82%''' ''15,493''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|19.32% ''3,798''
|align="center" |1.86% ''365''
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|[[2020 Missouri gubernatorial election|2020]]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''78.71%''' ''14,715''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|19.13% ''3,577''
|align="center" |2.16% ''404''
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|[[2016 Missouri gubernatorial election|2016]]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''66.52%''' ''11,450''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|30.07% ''5,039''
|align="center" |3.41% ''572''
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|[[2012 Missouri gubernatorial election|2012]]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''54.56%''' ''8,406''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|42.65% ''6,570''
|align="center" |2.79% ''430''
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|[[2008 Missouri gubernatorial election|2008]]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|46.31% ''7,521''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|'''51.14%''' ''8,306''
|align="center" |2.55% ''414''
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|[[2004 Missouri gubernatorial election|2004]]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''67.61%''' ''10,086''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|31.18% ''4,651''
|align="center" |1.21% ''181''
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|[[2000 Missouri gubernatorial election|2000]]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''56.66%''' ''6,721''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|41.35% ''4,904''
|align="center" |2.99% ''236''
|-
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|[[1996 Missouri gubernatorial election|1996]]
|align="center" bgcolor="#fff3f3"|'''54.63%''' ''5,512''
|align="center" bgcolor="#f0f0ff"|41.43% ''4,180''
|align="center" |3.94% ''397''
|}

Webster County is split between Missouri's 129th and 141st districts in the [[Missouri House of Representatives]].

*District 129 — John Black (R-[[Marshfield, Missouri|Marshfield]]). Consists of the western part of the county.
*District 141 — Hannah Kelly (R-[[Mountain Grove, Missouri|Mountain Grove]]). Consists of the eastern part of the county.

All of Webster County is part of Missouri's 20th district in the [[Missouri Senate]] and is currently represented by Curtis Trent (R-[[Greene County, Missouri|Greene County]]).

===Federal===
{{Election box begin|title=U.S. Senate — Missouri — Webster County (2016)<ref name=Webster2016>{{cite web| title=Official Results|url=http://www.webstercountymo.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Official-Results.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161203013035/http://www.webstercountymo.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Official-Results.pdf |archive-date=December 3, 2016 |url-status=live|publisher=Webster County Clerk |date =November 8, 2016|access-date=April 5, 2017}}</ref>}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = '''Roy Blunt'''
  |votes      = '''11,450'''
  |percentage = '''68.16%'''
  |change     = '''+17.58'''
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Jason Kander
  |votes      = 4,612
  |percentage = 27.45%
  |change     = -14.13
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Libertarian Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Jonathan Dine
  |votes      = 397
  |percentage = 2.36%
  |change     = -5.48
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Green Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Johnathan McFarland
  |votes      = 150
  |percentage = 0.89%
  |change     = +0.89
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Constitution Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Fred Ryman
  |votes      = 190
  |percentage = 1.13%
  |change     = +1.13
  }}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin|title=U.S. Senate — Missouri — Webster County (2012)<ref name=Webster2012>{{cite web| url=http://www.webstercountymo.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/nov_2012.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161213225654/http://www.webstercountymo.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/nov_2012.pdf |archive-date=December 13, 2016 |url-status=live|title=General Election, Official Results|publisher=Webster County Clerk|date=November 6, 2012|access-date=April 5, 2017}}</ref>}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Todd Akin
  |votes      = 7,739
  |percentage = 50.58%
  |change     = 
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = '''Claire McCaskill'''
  |votes      = '''6,363'''
  |percentage = '''41.58%'''
  |change     =
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Libertarian Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Jonathan Dine
  |votes      = 1,200
  |percentage = 7.84%
  |change     =
  }}
{{Election box end}}

The northern half of Webster County is included in [[Missouri's 4th congressional district]], which is currently represented by [[Mark Alford]] (R-[[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]]) in the [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]]. The southern half of the county is included in the [[Missouri's 7th congressional district|7th congressional district]], which is represented by [[Eric Burlison]] (R-[[Springfield, Missouri|Springfield]]).
{{Election box begin|title=U.S. House of Representatives — Missouri's 4th congressional district — Webster County (2016)<ref name=Webster2016/>}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = '''Vicky Hartzler'''
  |votes      = '''9,821'''
  |percentage = '''78.39%'''
  |change     = '''+4.27'''
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Gordon Christensen
  |votes      = 2,267
  |percentage = 18.09%
  |change     = -0.29
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Libertarian Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Mark Bliss
  |votes      = 441
  |percentage = 3.52
  |change     = -3.98
  }}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin|title=U.S. House of Representatives — Missouri's 4th congressional district — Webster County (2014)<ref name=Webster2014>{{cite web| url=http://www.webstercountymo.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/2014_11_04_final_official_results.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161213175133/http://www.webstercountymo.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/2014_11_04_final_official_results.pdf |archive-date=December 13, 2016 |url-status=live|title=Official Results|publisher =Webster County Clerk|date=November 4, 2014|access-date=April 5, 2017}}</ref>}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = '''Vicky Hartzler'''
  |votes      = '''5,307'''
  |percentage = '''74.12%'''
  |change     = '''+1.98'''
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Nate Irvin
  |votes      = 1,316
  |percentage = 18.38%
  |change     = -6.18
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Libertarian Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Herschel L. Young
  |votes      = 537
  |percentage = 7.50%
  |change     = +5.08
  }}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin|title=U.S. House of Representatives — Missouri's 4th congressional district — Webster County (2012)<ref name=Webster2012/>}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = '''Vicky Hartzler'''
  |votes      = '''8,350'''
  |percentage = '''72.14%'''
  |change     =
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Teresa Hensley
  |votes      = 2,843
  |percentage = 24.56%
  |change     =
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Libertarian Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Thomas Holbrook
  |votes      = 280
  |percentage = 2.42%
  |change     =
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Constitution Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Greg Cowan
  |votes      = 102
  |percentage = 0.88%
  |change     =
  }}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin|title=U.S. House of Representatives — Missouri's 7th congressional district — Webster County (2016)<ref name=Webster2016/>}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate  = '''Billy Long'''
  |votes      = '''2,778'''
  |percentage = '''70.78%'''
  |change     = '''+8.95'''
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Genevieve (Gen) Williams
  |votes      = 921
  |percentage = 23.46%
  |change     = -4.55
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Libertarian Party (United States)
  |candidate  = Benjamin T. Brixey
  |votes      = 226
  |percentage = 5.76%
  |change     = -4.40
  }}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin|title=U.S. House of Representatives — Missouri's 7th congressional district — Webster County (2014)<ref name=Webster2014/>}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party       = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate   = '''Billy Long'''
  |votes       = '''1,150'''
  |percentage  = '''61.83%'''
  |change      = '''-2.20'''
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party       = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate   = Jim Evans
  |votes       = 521
  |percentage  = 28.01%
  |change      = -1.56
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party       = Libertarian Party (United States)
  |candidate   = Kevin Craig
  |votes       = 189
  |percentage  = 10.16%
  |change      = +3.76
  }}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin|title=U.S. House of Representatives — Missouri's 7th congressional district — Webster County (2012)<ref name=Webster2012/>}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party       = Republican Party (United States)
  |candidate   = '''Billy Long'''
  |votes       = '''2,282'''
  |percentage  = '''64.03%'''
  |change      =
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party       = Democratic Party (United States)
  |candidate   = Jim Evans
  |votes       = 1,054
  |percentage  = 29.57%
  |change      =
  }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party       = Libertarian Party (United States)
  |candidate   = Kevin Craig
  |votes       = 228
  |percentage  = 6.40%
  |change      =
  }}
{{Election box end}}

====Political culture====
{{PresHead|place=Webster 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=February 22, 2021}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|15,984|3,653|177|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|14,880|3,573|326|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|12,840|3,177|726|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|10,708|4,409|379|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|10,431|5,685|240|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|10,194|4,657|93|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|2000|Republican|7,350|4,174|356|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1996|Republican|4,958|3,855|1,339|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1992|Republican|4,361|4,149|2,130|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1988|Republican|5,123|3,890|22|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|5,529|2,982|0|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1980|Republican|5,121|3,409|189|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|3,510|3,759|46|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|5,095|2,343|0|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1968|Republican|4,118|2,547|572|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1964|Democratic|3,341|3,824|0|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1960|Republican|4,603|2,707|0|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1956|Republican|3,940|3,132|0|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1952|Republican|4,701|2,894|20|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1948|Republican|3,581|3,292|17|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1944|Republican|4,281|2,785|15|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1940|Republican|4,818|3,518|16|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1936|Republican|4,469|3,612|21|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|3,083|4,211|63|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1928|Republican|4,002|2,343|8|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1924|Republican|3,168|2,730|299|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1920|Republican|4,000|2,428|81|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1916|Republican|2,114|1,903|100|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1912|Democratic|1,387|1,649|879|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1908|Republican|1,901|1,761|180|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1904|Republican|1,854|1,474|176|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1900|Republican|1,721|1,702|135|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1896|Democratic|1,666|1,985|17|Missouri}}
{{PresRow|1892|Republican|1,389|1,273|399|Missouri}}
{{PresFoot|1888|Republican|1,441|1,286|276|Missouri}}
Like most counties situated in Southwest Missouri, Webster County is a Republican stronghold in presidential elections. In 2020, [[Donald Trump]] garnered nearly 80% of the vote, with [[Joe Biden]] receiving 19%.  Going back in time, [[George W. Bush]] carried Webster County in [[2000 United States presidential election|2000]] and [[2004 United States presidential election|2004]] by around two-to-one margins, and like many other rural counties throughout Missouri, Webster County strongly favored [[John McCain]] over [[Barack Obama]] in [[2008 United States presidential election|2008]]. The last Democratic presidential nominee to carry Webster County was [[Jimmy Carter]] in 1976.

Like most areas throughout the [[Bible Belt]] in Southwest Missouri, voters in Webster County traditionally adhere to socially and culturally [[Conservatism|conservative]] principles which tend to strongly influence their Republican leanings. In 2004, Missourians voted on [[2006 Missouri Amendment 2|a constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman]]—it overwhelmingly passed Webster County with 82.32 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 Webster County with 57.94 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 Webster 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 Webster County with 75.50 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.

===Missouri presidential preference primaries===
In 2020, there were: 2,614 votes for Republicans (98% for incumbent President Donald Trump); 1,782 votes for Democrats (scattered among 23 candidates; the top four of which were: Joe Biden, [[Bernie Sanders]], [[Michael Bloomberg]], and [[Tulsi Gabbard]]); 8 for the Libertarian Party; 8 for the Constitution Party; and 1 for the Green Party.

In 2016, during an open presidential primary, there were: 1,793 votes for Democrats; 6,878 votes for Republicans; 11 Libertarian votes, and 2 votes for candidates of the Constitution Party. Among a field of Democrats, Bernie Sanders out-paced [[Hillary Clinton]] (53% vs. 45%) and others. Among Republicans, Texas Senator [[Ted Cruz]] gained more votes (53%) than future president Donald Trump and the other contenders.

In 2012, [[Rick Santorum]] received 1,343 votes, more than any other candidate and approximately 63% of Republican votes cast.

In 2008, former [[Governor of Arkansas|Governor]] [[Mike Huckabee]] (R-[[Arkansas]]) received more votes, a total of 2,576, than any candidate from either party in Webster County during the presidential primary.