Gentry County, Missouri
Gentry County is a county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,162. Its county seat is Albany. The county was organized February 14, 1841 and named for Colonel Richard Gentry of Boone County, who fell in the Seminole War in 1837. Geography. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.06%) is water. Demographics. As of the census of 2010, there were 6,738 people, 2,674 households, and 1,789 families residing in the county. The  population density was 14 people per square mile (5/km). There were 3,209 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile (3/km). The racial makeup of the county was 98.38% White, 0.31% Black or African American, 0.27% Asian, 0.19% Native American, 0.16% from other races, and 0.68% from two or more races. 0.53% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 2,674 households, of which 29.06% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.42% were married couples living together, 8.23% had a female householder with no husband present, and  33.10% were non-families. 29.02% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.07% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.03. In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.55% under the age of 18, 7.85% from 18 to 24, 20.67% from 25 to 44, 26.43% from 45 to 64, and 20.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.4 years. For every 100 females there were 93.62 males. For every 100 females age 18  and over, there were 92.43 males. The median income for a household in the county was $35,556, and the median income for a family was $46,458. Males had a median income of $33,558 versus $25,815 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,021. About 9.30% of families and 14.90% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.40% of those under age 18 and 15.00% of those age 65 or over. Religion. According to the Association of Religion Data Archives County Membership Report (2010), Gentry County is sometimes regarded as being  on the northern edge of the Bible Belt, with evangelical Protestantism being the most predominant religion. The most predominant denominations among residents in Gentry County who adhere to a religion are Southern Baptists (46.29%), United Methodists (18.20%), and Disciples of Christ (13.12%). Politics. Local. Political control is divided at the local level in Gentry County. Republicans hold a slim majority of the elected positions in the county. State. Gentry County is part of the 2nd district in the Missouri House of Representatives, currently held by J. Eggleston (R-Maysville). Gentry County is a part of Missouri's 12th District in  the Missouri Senate and is currently represented by Dan Hegeman (R-Cosby). Federal. All of Gentry County is included in Missouri's 6th Congressional District and is currently represented by Sam Graves (R-Tarkio) in the U.S. House of Representatives. Graves was elected to an eleventh term in 2020 over Democratic challenger Gena Ross. Gentry County, along with the rest of the state of Missouri, is represented in the U.S. Senate by Josh Hawley (R-Columbia) and Roy Blunt (R-Strafford). Political culture. At the presidential level, Gentry County is solidly Republican. Donald Trump carried the county easily in 2016  and 2020. Bill Clinton was the last Democratic presidential nominee to carry Gentry County in 1996, and no Democrat has won majority support from Gentry County voters since Michael Dukakis in 1988. Like most rural areas throughout northwest Missouri, voters in Gentry County generally adhere to socially and culturally conservative principles which tend to influence their Republican leanings. In 2004, Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment to define marriage as the union between a man and a woman—it overwhelmingly won in Gentry County with 79.9% of the vote. The initiative passed the state with 71% support from voters. In  2006, Missourians voted on a constitutional amendment to fund and legalize embryonic stem cell research in the state—it failed in Gentry County with 58.3% voting against the measure. The initiative narrowly passed the state with 51% of support from voters as Missouri became one of the first states in the nation to approve embryonic stem cell research. Despite Gentry County's longstanding tradition of supporting socially conservative platforms, voters in the county have a penchant for advancing 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 Gentry County with 63.3% of the vote. The proposition strongly passed every single county in Missouri with 78.99% voting in favor. (During the same election, voters in five other states also strongly approved increases in the minimum wage.) In 2018, Missourians voted on a proposition (Proposition A) concerning right to work, the outcome of which ultimately reversed the right to work legislation passed in the state the previous year. 61.82% of Gentry County voters cast their ballots to overturn the law. Missouri presidential preference primaries. 2020. The 2020 presidential primaries for  both the Democratic and Republican parties were held in Missouri on March 10. On the Democratic side, former Vice President Joe Biden (D-Delaware) both won statewide and carried Gentry County by a wide margin. He went on to defeat President Donald Trump in the general election. Incumbent President Donald Trump (R-Florida) faced only nominal opposition in the primary and won both Gentry County and statewide by large margins. 2016. The 2016 presidential primaries for both the Republican and Democratic parties were held in Missouri on March 15. Businessman Donald Trump (R-New York) narrowly won the state overall  and carried a plurality of the vote in Gentry County. He went on to win the presidency. On the Democratic side, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D-New York) both won statewide by a small margin but narrowly lost Gentry County to Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont). 2012. The 2012 Missouri Republican Presidential Primary's results were nonbinding on the state's national convention delegates. Voters in Gentry County supported former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pennsylvania), who finished first in the state at large, but eventually lost the nomination to former Governor Mitt Romney (R-Massachusetts). Delegates to  the congressional district and state conventions were chosen at a county caucus, which selected a delegation favoring Santorum. Incumbent President Barack Obama easily won the Missouri Democratic Primary and renomination. He defeated Romney in the general election. 2008. In 2008, the Missouri Republican Presidential Primary was closely contested, with Senator John McCain (R-Arizona) prevailing and eventually winning the nomination. Then-Senator Hillary Clinton (D-New York) received more votes than any candidate from either party in Gentry County during the 2008 presidential primary. Despite initial reports that Clinton had won Missouri, Barack Obama (D-Illinois), also a Senator at  the time, narrowly defeated her statewide and later became that year's Democratic nominee, going on to win the presidency. Miscellaneous. On March 5, 2010, a jury awarded seven neighboring farmers $11 million in damages from Premium Standard Farms over odors emanating from a hog farm of that processes 200,000 hogs near Berlin in Gentry County - the largest such award in history.