MISSOURI 10 Electoral Votes 
link to clickable map
Population 
(Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Missouri Secretary of State)
Total Resident Population, July 1, 2016 est.             6,093,000
Total Registration, Nov. 2016                                      4,223,787 >
Note: Missouri does not register by party.
Missouri has: 114 counties (116 local election jurisdictions counting Kansas City and St. Louis)
Largest counties: St. Louis, Jackson, St. Charles, St. Louis city, Greene, Clay and Jefferson.
Largest cities: Kansas City, St. Louis, Springfield, Independence, Columbia. 

Government
Governor: Jay Nixon (D) elected in 2008; term-limited in 2016.
State Legislature: Missouri General Assembly     House 163 seats   Senate: 34 seats
Local: City and County   NACO
U.S. House: 6R, 2D - 1. L.Clay (D) | 2. A.Wagner (R) | 3. B.Luetkemeyer (R) | 4. V.Hartzler (R) | 5. E.Cleaver II (D) | 6. S.Graves (R) | 7. B.Long (R) | 8. J.Smith (R).   >
U.S. Senate: Claire McCaskill (D) re-elected in 2012, Roy Blunt (R) re-elected in 2016.
2016
Governor: Republicans picked up a governorship in Missouri.  Vying to succeed term-limited Gov. Jay Nixon (D), former Navy SEAL and CEO of The Mission Continues Eric Greitens (R) defeated Attorney General Chris Koster (D) by 1,433,397 votes (51.14%) to 1,277,360 (45.57%) and 41,154 (1.47%) for Cisse Spragins, Ph.D (L), an entrepreneur and former state party chair; 30,019 (1.07%) for  businessman Lester Turilli Jr. (I); and 21,088 (0.75%) for Don Fitz (G).
U.S. Senate: Sen. Roy Blunt (R), seeking a second term, defeated Secretary of State Jason Kander (D) by 1,378,458 votes (49.18%) to 1,300,200 (46.39%) and 67,738 (2.42%) for
Jonathan Dine (L), 30,743 (1.10%) for Johnathan McFarland (G) and 25,407 (0.91%) for Fred Ryman (C).
U.S. House: All eight Members were re-elected by comfortable margins.
State Legislature: All 163 House seats and 18 of 34 Senate seats were up.  Republicans retained dominating control of both chambers.  The House went from 115R, 45D, 1I and 2v to 117R, 46D and the Senate went from 24R, 7D, 3v to 25R, 9D. 
Ballot Measures:
Voters decided five constitutional amendments and one proposition.  They approved  Amendment 1 to continue a 0.10 percent sales/use tax for 10 years; approved Amendment 2 to establish limits on campaign contributions to candidates running for state or judicial office; defeated Amendment 3, the "Early Childhood Health and Education Amendment," to increase the tax on cigarettes; approved Amendment 4 to prohibit new sales or use taxes; and approved Amendment 6 to clear a path for a voter ID requirement; voters defeated Proposition A , which would also have ncreased taxes on cigarettes, by 55.2% to 44.8%.  [In 2012 Proposition B on cigarette taxes failed by 1.5 percentage points.  Missouri has the lowest taxes on cigarettes of any state (>)].   >

 State of Missouri
Secretary of State

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Progressive Party of MO (Grn)

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The "Show-Me" State
General Election -- Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Voting Eligible Population*: 4,511,812.
VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 62.3%.

Voter Registration Deadline: Oct. 12, 2016.



Official Results >

 
Clinton/Kaine (Dem.)
1,071,068
(38.14)
+Trump/Pence (Rep.)
1,594,511
(56.77)
Johnson/Weld (Lib.)
97,359
(3.47)
Castle/Bradley (Const.)
13,092
(0.47)
Stein/Baraka (Grn.)
25,419
(0.91)
McMullin/Johnson (w/in)
7,071
(0.25)
more w/ins (4)
85
-
Total........2,808,605


Voter Turnout 2,811,549.
Overview:  Missouri saw competitive races for governor and U.S. Senate as well as a number of controversial ballot measures, but the presidential race was not close.  
  
As a prologue to the general election, recall that back in March, seven-plus months before Election Day, both the Republican and Democratic presidential primaries were extremely close. 
   
In the later part of June 2016, as in other states, the Clinton campaign good off to an early  start, bringing on a state director, while the Trump campaign appointed its state director on Aug. 22.  The Clinton campaign also boasted a Missouri connection in that VP nominee Tim Kaine grew up in the Kansas City area, graduated from the University of Missouri in 1979 (+), and his parents and younger brothers still live there. 
   Ultimately, however, the Clinton campaign did not make much of an investment in the state.  The major focus was on the down-ballot races, and there was a bit of an awkward relationship as having Clinton at the top of the ticket was not always helpful.  The Blunt for Senate re-election campaign ran TV ads linking Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jason Kander to Clinton, charging "On every major issue Clinton and Kander agree" and "If Hillary Clinton is president, Jason Kander will be a blank check for Clinton's liberal agenda (+)."   With the perception that Clinton was likely to win, there were voters who voted for the Blunt as a check to Clinton, likely hurting Kander's candidacy.  Another factor affecting electoral dynamics was the weak state of the Missouri Democratic Party.
   Missouri was in the spotlight on Oct. 9 when Washingtion University in St. Louis hosted the second presidential debate, but candidates made few visits to the state.
 
Republicans won all statewide contests. Trump-Pence won the Missouri's 10 electoral votes with a plurality of 523,443 votes (18.63 percentage points), carrying all counties except St. Louis in the East, Jackson (Kansas City) in the West, and Boone in the center.
Clinton  |  Trump
BALLOT [PDF]
See: David Hudnall.  "The Blues: What happened to the Missouri Democratic Party?"  The Pitch, April 11, 2017.
[State Primary: August 2, 2016]
Presidential Preference Primary -- Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Note: In June 2014 Gov. Jay Nixon (D) signed into law SB 892 (>), moving the presidential primary date from February to March.
Democrats
84 Delegates: 47 District, 15 At-Large, 9 PLEO and 13 Unpledged.

details


Republicans
52 Delegates: 3 RNC; 25 At-Large; 24 by CD (3 x 8 CDs). 

details



General Election Winners in Missouri, 1992-2012
1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012
Clinton
44.07%
Clinton
47.54%
Bush
50.42%
Bush
53.30%
McCain
49.43%
Romney
53.76%
  and the details...
 
General Election -- Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Voting Eligible Population*: 4,410,813.
VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 62.5%.

Voter Registration Deadline: October 10, 2012.



Official Results >

 
Obama/Biden (Dem.)
1,223,796
(44.38)
+Romney/Ryan (Rep.)
1,482,440
(53.76)
Johnson/Gray (Lib.) 43,151
(1.56)
Goode/Clymer (Const.)
7,936
(0.29)
Total........2,757,323


2012 Overview
Missouri, which was the closest state in 2008 (McCain by 3,903 votes or 0.14 percentage points) was not close in 2012.  Romney-Ryan won with a plurality of 258,644 votes (9.38 percentage points), carrying 112 counties.  Obama won Kansas City, in the West, by 105,670 (77.2%) to 29,509 (21.6%), Boone Co., in central Missouri, by 50.2% to 47.1%, and
in the East, St. Louis Co. by 297,097 (56.2%) to 224,742 (42.5%) and St. Louis City by 118,780 (82.7%) to 22,943 (16.0%).  There were a few visits: President Obama commencement address at Joplin High School (May 21); Vice President Biden fundraiser in KC (April 30), fundraiser for Sen. McCaskill in KC (July 9).  Mitt Romney NRA Convention in St. Louis (April 13), fundraiser in KC (May 10), event and fundraiser in St. Louis (June 7), unscheduled refueling stop in KC (Sept. 16); Paul Ryan fundraiser in Springfield (Aug. 23).  Jim Gray events on Nov. 4 and 5.
Obama Romney
BALLOT [PDF]
 
General Election -- Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Voting Eligible Population*: 4,296,592.
VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 68.1%.


Total Registration: 4,205,774.


    +                       Official Results >


+McCain-Palin (Rep.)
1,445,814
(49.43)
Obama-Biden (Dem.)
1,441,911
(49.29)
Barr/Root (Lib.)
11,386
(0.39)
Baldwin/Castle (Const.) 8,201
(0.28)
Nader/Gonzalez (Ind.)
17,813
(0.61)
McKinney/Clemente (w/in.)
80

Total........2,925,205


2008 Overview
The McCain-Palin ticket won the "Show Me" state by 3,903 votes (0.14 percentage points).  The Associated Press did not call the race until Nov. 19; it was the closest presidential race in Missouri since 1908.  Obama racked up large tallies in Kansas City (120,102 to 31,854) and St. Louis (333,123 to 221,705 in the County and 132,925 to 24,662 in St. Louis City) and carried a few other counties.  At the same time as McCain was eking out a win the presidential race, in the gubernatorial contest Democrat Jay Nixon won by more than half a million votes.
General Election Details
Obama/Allies  |  McCain/Allies  |  Nader

General Election -- Tuesday, November 2, 2004
Voting Eligible Population*: 4,180,960.
VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 65.3%.


Total Registration: 4,194,146
.

Last day to register: October 6, 2004.
Kerry/Edwards (Dem.)
1,259,171
(46.10)
+Bush/Cheney (Rep.)
1,455,713
(53.30)
Badnarik/Campagna (Lib.) 9,831 (0.36)
Peroutka/Baldwin (Const.) 5,355
(0.20)
Nader (write in)
1,294
(0.05)
Total........2,731,364
 




2004 Overview
Missouri has voted for the winner in every presidential election of the 20th century but one, thereby earning the sobriquet of "bellweather state."  The exception was 1956 when voters backed Adlai Stevenson.  In 2004 Missouri maintained its bellweather status as Bush more than doubled his 2000 margin, gaining a plurality of 196,542 votes (7.20 percentage points).  Kerry carried only St. Louis City and County and Kansas City.
General Election Details
Kerry/Allies  |  Bush/Cheney '04

General Election -- Tuesday, November 7, 2000
Voting Eligible Population*: 4,052,255.
VEP Highest Office Turnout Rate: 58.2%.


Total Registration: 3,860,672.




Gore/Lieberman (Dem.)
 1,111,138
 (47.08)
+Bush/Cheney (Rep.)
 1,189,924
(50.42)
Browne/Olivier (Lib.)
7,436
(0.32)
Phillips/Frazier (Const.)
1,957
(0.08)
Buchanan/Foster (Ref.)
9,818
(0.42)
Hagelin/Goldhaber(NLP)
1,104
(0.05)
Nader/LaDuke (Grn.)
38,515
 (1.63)
Total........2,359,892


2000 Overview
In 2000 the "Show Me" state was a hotly contested battleground.  Its 11 electoral votes went narrowly to Bush, as he gained a plurality of 78,786 votes (3.34 percentage points).  Gore carried 12 counties: 3 in the St. Louis area, 4 in the Kansas City area, 3 in the southeast tip, and a couple of others by thin margins.  Missouri also saw tight races for governor and U.S. Senate.  After the loss of Gov. Carnahan on Oct. 16, "Don't let the fire go out," became a rallying cry for Democrats.  Controversy arose on Election Day in the city of St. Louis, when a judge ordered polls be kept open past closing time. 
General Election Activity

1992 and 1996 General Elections

1992
Clinton (Dem.).....1,053,873
(44.07)
Bush (Rep.)...........811,159
(33.91)
Perot (Ind.)............518,741
(21.69)
Others(Marrou,w/ins).7,792
(0.33)
Total........2,391,565

Useful historical perspective can be found in:
David A. Leuthold.  1994.  Campaign Missouri 1992.  Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press.
1996
Clinton (Dem.).....1,025,935
(47.54)
Dole (Rep.)............890,016
(41.24)
Perot (Ref.)............217,188
(10.06)
Others (3+w/ins)......24,926
(1.16)
Total........2,158,065

Archive Pages: 2012 | 2008 | 2004 | 2000