Another election is in the books, and in Barry County, it came with few surprises.
As many may have predicted, the county remained unabashedly red. A breakdown of the vote is the top story in this issue, detailing turnout and how candidates fared in national, statewide, Missouri House and Missouri Senate races, as well as the vote on each Constitutional amendments and propositions. I won’t go into excruciating detail here, but there are some trends worth noting.
Considering the presidential election drives most voters to the polls every four years, it was surprising to me that this third campaign by President-Elect Donald Trump drew the lowest turnout among Barry County voters. Total turnout was nearly 5% less than his first election in 2016, and 3% less than the vote in 2020.
Republicans do have the luxury of worrying less about presidential races, as the state has firmly supported Trump in each of the three elections. This time, he garnered 58.5% of the state’s vote compared to Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris’ 40.1%.
In Barry County, the dip in turnout could be explained by the rise in registrations. Compared to 2016, County Clerk Joyce Ennis Office has added 3,404 voters, an increase of 16.6%. Even since 2020, registrations grew by 1,639, or 7.3%.
And, even though the overall turnout was lower this time around, Trump received the highest level of support this time around, garnering 13,130 votes compared to 11,427 in 2016, a 14.9% increase, and 12,425 in 2020. Those increases of 14.9% over 2016 and 5.6% over 2020 are less than the overall registration increases, which goes to show voters on both sides of the aisle are registering at about the same rate here.
Where Trump led, voters in Barry County followed, as all the down-ballot races received immense Republican support and a fraction of support among Democrats. In fact, Lucas Kunce, Democrat candidate for U.S. Senate running against incumbent Republican Josh Hawley, was the only one to get 20% of Barry County’s vote.
That four-to-one ratio is historically right on par for Barry County in the last few elections.
On the six amendments and propositions, the county split evenly with the state’s votes. Sports betting was a no for the county but a yes for the state, as was the abortion access amendment and minimum wage proposition. On the lake casino, law enforcement benefits and voting changes, the county and state aligned.
Of interest to me was the judge retentions. I’m not sure about you, but I did not know a thing about any of the four judges, two Missouri Supreme Court and two Southern District Court of Appeals. I suspect most voters encountered the same dilemma when deciding whether or not to “retain” them.
I say that with confidence because not a single judge out of the 69 up for retention was voted out.
Furthermore, 48 Republican circuit judges, including David Cole and Alan Blankenship in our circuit, ran unopposed, compared to two Democrat judges and one Independent judge. Only one circuit had a Republican and a Democrat running.
Maybe it’s just me, but a 100% retention rate seems like a red flag. Yet, not knowing anything about the more than 100 judges on ballots statewide, I don’t have any reason they shouldn’t all be retained. Most voters, I’d surmise, vote to continue the status quo because they, like me, don’t have a reason to vote the other way.
It would behoove a larger media outlet to provide a continuously updated guide on these judges, their education, positions and accomplishments. I would definitely be interested in reading about them.
Through all the ballots and issues, the biggest difference in the election this year was early voting, especially locally. Nationwide, more than 80 million ballots were cast early in this election, down about 20% from the 2020 race while the country was in the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In Barry County, however, early voting saw an increase of 31.5%, up to 5,000 from 3,800. Ennis said that amounted to about 200 people per day voting absentee or at the courthouse during two-week no-excuse early voting. A couple of those days had 500 voters each.
While it did require staffing assistance for her office, I commend Ennis for her efforts. Not only did early in-person voting require just a 5-minute wait, at most, but one-in-three voters in Barry County doing their duty early likely kept the lines moving at polling places on Election Day.
With the intensity of the microscope on so many other counties and states, our process in Barry County is simple and effective.
Whether you are happy or disappointed in the results of this election, I hope you look forward to some measure of improvement over the next four years. With Trump being term-limited and the disaster the Democrats brought upon themselves, the 2028 race for president is shaping up to start a new era of American politics. I hope we will be better off then than we are now.
Kyle Troutman has served as editor of the Cassville Democrat since 2014 and owner/publisher since 2023. He was named William E. James/Missouri Outstanding Young Journalist for daily newspapers in 2017, and he is a two-time ISWNE Golden Dozen award winner. He may be reached at 417-847 2610 or ktroutman@cassville- democrat.com.
