2000 United States presidential election in Missouri

2000 United States presidential election in Missouri

← 1996 November 7, 2000 2004 →

Nominee George W. Bush Al Gore Party Republican Democratic Home state Texas Tennessee Running mate Dick Cheney Joe Lieberman Electoral vote 11 0 Popular vote 1,189,924 1,111,138 Percentage 50.42% 47.08%

County Results Bush   40-50%   50-60%   60-70%   70-80% Gore   40-50%   50-60%   70-80%

President before election Bill Clinton Democratic Elected President George W. Bush Republican

Elections in Missouri
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The 2000 United States presidential election in Missouri took place on November 7, 2000 as part of the 2000 United States presidential election. Voters chose 11 electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Missouri was a critical swing state.^[1] George W. Bush won the popular vote by a margin of just over 3% against his Democratic opponent, Al Gore. The 2000 election was seen as the turning point of Missouri's bellwether status, which the state had maintained throughout most of the 20th century.

Like Clinton, Gore was a Southern Democrat from a neighboring state of Tennessee and was widely seen as competitive in the state.^[2]

As of the 2020 presidential election, no Democratic presidential candidate has won Missouri since 1996, despite Gore (as vice president), and Hillary Clinton (as First Lady) both being important officials in the Clinton administration. (Later Democratic nominees John Kerry, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden were not involved in the Clinton administration).

As of the 2020 presidential election, this is the last time that Saline County, New Madrid County, Pemiscot County, Mississippi County, Ray County, and Clay County voted for the Democratic presidential candidate.

Bush became the first Republican to win the White House without carrying St. Louis County since Rutherford Hayes in 1876.

Primaries[]

• 2000 Missouri Democratic presidential primary
• 2000 Missouri Republican presidential primary

Results[]

By county[]

By congressional district[]

Bush won 6 of 9 congressional districts.^[4]

Electors[]

Technically the voters of Missouri cast their ballots for electors: representatives to the Electoral College. Missouri is allocated 11 electors because it has 9 congressional districts and 2 senators. All candidates who appear on the ballot or qualify to receive write-in votes must submit a list of 11 electors, who pledge to vote for their candidate and his or her running mate. Whoever wins the majority of votes in the state is awarded all 11 electoral votes. Their chosen electors then vote for president and vice president. Although electors are pledged to their candidate and running mate, they are not obligated to vote for them. An elector who votes for someone other than his or her candidate is known as a faithless elector.

The electors of each state and the District of Columbia met on December 18, 2000^[5] to cast their votes for president and vice president. The Electoral College itself never meets as one body. Instead the electors from each state and the District of Columbia met in their respective capitols.

The following were the members of the Electoral College from the state. All were pledged to and voted for George W. Bush and Dick Cheney:^[6]

1. David Barklage
2. Bruce Bredeman
3. Marc Ellinger
4. Gordon Elliott
5. John Hancock
6. Stan Horacek
7. Homer Johnson
8. John Judd
9. Michael Kort
10. Dennis Owens
11. Al Rotskoff

Bellwether effect[]

Beginning with the 2000 election, the status of the Missouri bellwether came into question. Between 1904 and 2004, Missouri was carried by the victor of each presidential election, with the exception of 1956. Though Bush won the presidency in the 2000 election through the Electoral College, he lost the national popular vote. The 2000 election was unique because this was the first time in over a century where the popular vote winner lost the general election. (In 1888, Missouri voted for Grover Cleveland, the incumbent Democrat, who lost to Republican candidate Benjamin Harrison). Thus, controversy exists as to whether or not Missouri accurately predicted the victor in this election. In the subsequent election, Missouri voted for George W. Bush, who this time won both the popular vote and the Electoral College.

In any case, Missouri has voted reliably Republican since this election. The state very narrowly voted for John McCain in 2008 and for Mitt Romney by a wider margin in 2012; both men were ultimately defeated by Barack Obama in the nationwide election. The controversy is further complicated by the 2016 presidential election, where Missouri voted for Donald Trump by a landslide, while Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by nearly three million votes, but like in 2000, Trump won the Electoral College and became 45th President of the United States. Like 2000, political scientists have differing opinions on whether or not Missouri accurately predicted the victor.

See also[]

• United States presidential elections in Missouri
• Presidency of George W. Bush

References[]