Missouri's 8th Congressional District - Character

Character

Missouri's 8th is a relatively diverse congressional district. Although it is fairly conservative and Republican-leaning at the federal level, Democrats often perform well here in local and state elections. Bill Clinton, a Democrat from neighboring Arkansas, managed to carry the 8th District both times in 1992 and 1996 by strong margins, but since then, the district solidly supported Republicans George W. Bush and John McCain in the past three presidential elections. The district did, however, back former Attorney General and now Governor Jay Nixon (D) over Republican Kenny Hulshof in Missouri's gubernatorial election in 2008.

At the local level, Democrats control a majority of elected offices in Southeast Missouri. Republicans control more local offices in the more extreme-western portions of the district namely in Southwest Missouri. In presidential elections, Democratic candidates often run best in the Bootheel, which is the most impoverished region in the district (and the state, for that matter) and contains a significant number of African Americans, as well as the Lead Belt region which contains a core constituency of labor unions and mining.

The district takes in a large swath of the Bible Belt with evangelical Protestantism being the dominant religion in most counties in the district which influences many conservative voters especially on hot-button social issues like abortion, gay rights and gun control, as hunting is all but a way of life and rite of passage for many people in the district. Ethnically, it is one of the whitest districts in the state (and the nation, for that matter) and maintains a rural character where agriculture and farming are the backbone of the economy and are very important to voters in the district. Outside the Bootheel, all counties in the district are at least 90% white. Socioeconomically, it is the poorest district in Missouri and the 11th poorest congressional district in the country.