Buchanan County is located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 84,793. Its county seat is St. Joseph. When originally formed in 1838, the county was named Roberts County, after settler Hiram Roberts. It was renamed in 1839 for James Buchanan, then a U.S. Senator and later President of the United States. The county was formed from land annexed to Missouri, as were five other counties. Buchanan County is included in the Kansas City CSA.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.6%) is water.

Adjacent counties

  • Andrew County (north)
  • DeKalb County (northeast)
  • Clinton County (east)
  • Platte County (south)
  • Atchison County, Kansas (southwest)
  • Doniphan County, Kansas (northwest)

Transportation

Major highways

Source:

  • 25px Interstate 29
  • 25px Interstate 29 Business
  • 25px Interstate 229
  • 25px U.S. Route 36
  • 25px U.S. Route 59
  • 25px U.S. Route 71
  • 25px US 71 Business
  • 25px U.S. Route 169
  • 25px Route 6
  • 25px Route 31
  • 25px Route 45
  • 25px Route 116
  • 25px Route 138
  • 25px Route 273
  • 25px Route 371
  • 25px Route 752
  • 25px Route 759

Transit

  • St. Joseph Transit
  • Jefferson Lines

Demographics

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At the presidential level, Buchanan County was a swing county that has become increasingly Republican in recent years. Buchanan County strongly favored Republican Donald Trump in 2016, 2020, and 2024. Barack Obama was the last Democratic presidential nominee to carry Buchanan County in 2008 with a plurality of the vote, but a Democrat hasn't won majority support from the county's voters in a presidential election since Michael Dukakis in 1988.

Buchanan County did vote to legalize abortion in Missouri, voting for 2024 Missouri Amendment 3.

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 Buchanan County by a wide margin. Biden went on to defeat President Donald Trump in the general election.

Incumbent President Donald Trump (R-Florida) faced a primary challenge from former Massachusetts Governor Bill Weld, but won both Buchanan County and statewide by overwhelming 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 in Buchanan County. He went on to win the presidency.

On the Democratic side, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (D-New York) narrowly won statewide, but Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) carried Buchanan County.

2012

The 2012 Missouri Republican Presidential Primary's results were nonbinding on the state's national convention delegates. Voters in Buchanan 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 Romney. 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. However, former Governor Mitt Romney (R-Massachusetts) narrowly carried Buchanan County.

Then-Senator Hillary Clinton (D-New York) received more votes than any candidate from either party in Buchanan 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.

See also

  • List of counties in Missouri
  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Buchanan County, Missouri

References

  • Buchanan County government's website
  • St. Joseph Missouri City Directories
  • St. Joseph Missouri Yearbook Indexes
  • Digitized 1930 Plat Book of Buchanan County from University of Missouri Division of Special Collections, Archives, and Rare Books