2000 United States presidential election in Missouri explained

Election Name:	2000 United States presidential election in Missouri
Country:	Missouri
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	1996 United States presidential election in Missouri
Previous Year:	1996
Next Election:	2004 United States presidential election in Missouri
Next Year:	2004
Election Date:	November 7, 2000
Image1:	Official Portrait- President George Walker Bush, 43rd President of the United States, Republican - DPLA - 7482eac0e113bf03014d1686a3733f97.jpeg
Nominee1:	George W. Bush
Party1:	Republican Party (United States)
Home State1:	Texas
Running Mate1:	Dick Cheney
Electoral Vote1:	11
Popular Vote1:	1,189,924
Percentage1:	50.42%
Nominee2:	Al Gore
Party2:	Democratic Party (United States)
Home State2:	Tennessee
Running Mate2:	Joe Lieberman
Electoral Vote2:	0
Popular Vote2:	1,111,138
Percentage2:	47.08%
Map Size:	340px
President
Before Election:	Bill Clinton
Before Party:	Democratic Party (United States)
After Election:	George W. Bush
After Party:	Republican Party (United States)

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 eleven electors to the Electoral College, who voted for president and vice president.

Prior to the election, Missouri was widely considered to be a critical swing state.^[1] Governor of Texas George W. Bush ultimately won the state by a margin of just over 3% against his Democratic opponent, Vice President 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. Although Bush did win the presidency, keeping the state's bellwether streak active, this was the first election since Missouri voted for Adlai Stevenson in 1956 where the state failed to back the national popular vote winner, and only the second time since 1900. This was also the first time in history that a Democrat won the popular vote without carrying Missouri. Missouri would ultimately lose its bellwether status in 2008 by narrowly voting for John McCain, and has been safely Republican in presidential elections since 2012.

, this is the last time that Saline County, New Madrid County, Pemiscot County, Mississippi County, Ray County, and Clay County (which Gore won by only one vote) have voted for the Democratic presidential candidate. Bush became the first Republican to win the White House without carrying St. Louis County since Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876. This is also the last time that St. Louis county has voted to the right of any of the state's rural counties.

Missouri was one of nine states won by Bush that had supported Bill Clinton in both 1992 and 1996.

Primaries

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

Results

Presidential Candidate	Running Mate	Party	Electoral Vote (EV)	Popular Vote (PV)
George W. Bush of Texas	Richard Cheney of Wyoming	Republican	11^[2]	1,189,924	50.42%
	Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut	Democratic	0	1,111,138	47.08%
Ralph Nader	Winona LaDuke	Green Party	0	38,515	1.63%
Patrick Buchanan	Ezola Foster	Reform Party	0	9,818	0.42%
Harry Browne	Art Olivier	Libertarian Party	0	7,436	0.32%
Others	-	-	0	3,061	0.13%
Totals			11	2,359,892	100%

By county

County	George W. Bush Republican		Al Gore Democratic		Various candidates Other parties		Margin		Total
		%		%		%		%
	Adair		6,050		57.34%		4,101		38.86%		401		3.80%		1,949		18.48%		10,552
	Andrew		4,257		58.52%		2,795		38.42%		222		3.05%		1,462		20.10%		7,274
	Atchison		1,798		62.63%		1,013		35.28%		60		2.09%		785		27.35%		2,871
	Audrain		5,256		52.64%		4,551		45.58%		178		1.78%		705		7.06%		9,985
	Barry		7,885		63.75%		4,135		33.43%		348		2.81%		3,750		30.32%		12,368
	Barton		3,836		71.49%		1,424		26.54%		106		1.98%		2,412		44.95%		5,366
	Bates		4,245		54.48%		3,386		43.45%		161		2.07%		859		11.03%		7,792
	Benton		4,218		55.99%		3,150		41.81%		166		2.20%		1,068		14.18%		7,534
	Bollinger		3,487		65.87%		1,692		31.96%		115		2.17%		1,795		33.91%		5,294
	Boone		28,426		47.69%		28,811		48.33%		2,372		3.98%		-385		-0.64%		59,609
	Buchanan		16,423		47.26%		17,085		49.16%		1,243		3.58%		-662		-1.90%		34,751
	Butler		9,111		63.28%		4,996		34.70%		290		2.01%		4,115		28.58%		14,397
	Caldwell		2,220		57.66%		1,488		38.65%		142		3.69%		732		19.01%		3,850
	Callaway		8,238		53.81%		6,708		43.82%		362		2.36%		1,530		9.99%		15,308
	Camden		10,358		60.58%		6,323		36.98%		418		2.44%		4,035		23.60%		17,099
	Cape Girardeau		19,832		66.42%		9,334		31.26%		693		2.32%		10,498		35.16%		29,859
	Carroll		2,880		62.87%		1,620		35.36%		81		1.77%		1,260		27.51%		4,581
	Carter		1,730		61.61%		997		35.51%		81		2.88%		733		26.10%		2,808
	Cass		20,113		56.07%		14,921		41.60%		835		2.33%		5,192		14.47%		35,869
	Cedar		3,530		62.33%		1,979		34.95%		154		2.72%		1,551		27.38%		5,663
	Chariton		2,300		55.37%		1,792		43.14%		62		1.49%		508		12.23%		4,154
	Christian		14,824		63.82%		7,896		33.99%		508		2.19%		6,928		29.83%		23,228
	Clark		1,899		49.95%		1,812		47.66%		91		2.39%		87		2.29%		3,802
	Clay		39,083		48.75%		39,084		48.75%		2,006		2.50%		-1		-0.00%		80,173
	Clinton		4,323		50.67%		3,994		46.82%		214		2.51%		329		3.85%		8,531
	Cole		20,167		61.53%		12,056		36.78%		552		1.68%		8,111		24.75%		32,775
	Cooper		4,072		59.97%		2,567		37.81%		151		2.22%		1,505		22.16%		6,790
	Crawford		4,754		57.26%		3,350		40.35%		198		2.38%		1,404		16.91%		8,302
	Dade		2,468		65.78%		1,193		31.80%		91		2.43%		1,275		33.98%		3,752
	Dallas		3,723		59.86%		2,311		37.16%		185		2.97%		1,412		22.70%		6,219
	Daviess		2,011		57.56%		1,367		39.12%		116		3.32%		644		18.44%		3,494
	DeKalb		2,363		58.36%		1,562		38.58%		124		3.06%		801		19.78%		4,049
	Dent		3,996		66.73%		1,839		30.71%		153		2.56%		2,157		36.02%		5,988
	Douglas		3,599		68.15%		1,546		29.27%		136		2.58%		2,053		38.88%		5,281
	Dunklin		5,426		51.55%		4,947		47.00%		152		1.44%		479		4.55%		10,525
	Franklin		21,863		55.78%		16,172		41.26%		1,159		2.96%		5,691		14.52%		39,194
	Gasconade		4,190		63.21%		2,257		34.05%		182		2.75%		1,933		29.16%		6,629
	Gentry		1,771		57.04%		1,271		40.93%		63		2.03%		500		16.11%		3,105
	Greene		59,178		57.50%		41,091		39.92%		2,657		2.58%		18,087		17.58%		102,926
	Grundy		2,976		63.21%		1,563		33.20%		169		3.59%		1,413		30.01%		4,708
	Harrison		2,552		63.94%		1,328		33.27%		111		2.78%		1,224		30.67%		3,991
	Henry		5,120		52.36%		4,459		45.60%		199		2.04%		661		6.76%		9,778
	Hickory		2,172		51.25%		1,961		46.27%		105		2.48%		211		4.98%		4,238
	Holt		1,738		65.29%		871		32.72%		53		1.99%		867		32.57%		2,662
	Howard		2,414		53.50%		1,944		43.09%		154		3.41%		470		10.41%		4,512
	Howell		9,018		64.07%		4,641		32.97%		416		2.96%		4,377		31.10%		14,075
	Iron		2,237		50.68%		2,044		46.31%		133		3.01%		193		4.37%		4,414
	Jackson		104,418		38.38%		160,419		58.96%		7,225		2.66%		-56,001		-20.58%		272,062
	Jasper		24,899		66.43%		11,737		31.31%		845		2.25%		13,162		35.12%		37,481
	Jefferson		36,766		47.62%		38,616		50.02%		1,822		2.36%		-1,850		-2.40%		77,204
	Johnson		9,339		55.63%		6,926		41.26%		522		3.11%		2,413		14.37%		16,787
	Knox		1,226		59.66%		787		38.30%		42		2.04%		439		21.36%		2,055
	Laclede		8,556		65.58%		4,183		32.06%		307		2.35%		4,373		33.52%		13,046
	Lafayette		7,849		54.06%		6,343		43.68%		328		2.26%		1,506		10.38%		14,520
	Lawrence		8,305		64.36%		4,235		32.82%		363		2.81%		4,070		31.54%		12,903
	Lewis		2,388		53.26%		2,023		45.12%		73		1.63%		365		8.14%		4,484
	Lincoln		8,549		53.72%		6,961		43.74%		403		2.53%		1,588		9.98%		15,913
	Linn		3,246		54.01%		2,646		44.03%		118		1.96%		600		9.98%		6,010
	Livingston		3,709		59.10%		2,425		38.64%		142		2.26%		1,284		20.46%		6,276
	Macon		4,232		58.98%		2,817		39.26%		126		1.76%		1,415		19.72%		7,175
	Madison		2,460		56.25%		1,828		41.80%		85		1.94%		632		14.45%		4,373
	Maries		2,216		57.50%		1,554		40.32%		84		2.18%		662		17.18%		3,854
	Marion		6,550		55.93%		4,993		42.63%		169		1.44%		1,557		13.30%		11,712
	McDonald		4,460		68.31%		1,866		28.58%		203		3.11%		2,594		39.73%		6,529
	Mercer		1,250		67.86%		555		30.13%		37		2.01%		695		37.73%		1,842
	Miller		5,945		63.54%		3,217		34.38%		194		2.07%		2,728		29.16%		9,356
	Mississippi		2,395		45.93%		2,756		52.85%		64		1.23%		-361		-6.92%		5,215
	Moniteau		3,764		62.06%		2,176		35.88%		125		2.06%		1,588		26.18%		6,065
	Monroe		2,175		53.13%		1,860		45.43%		59		1.44%		315		7.70%		4,094
	Montgomery		3,106		58.57%		2,092		39.45%		105		1.98%		1,014		19.12%		5,303
	Morgan		4,460		56.59%		3,235		41.05%		186		2.36%		1,225		15.54%		7,881
	New Madrid		3,416		47.01%		3,738		51.45%		112		1.54%		-322		-4.44%		7,266
	Newton		14,232		67.25%		6,447		30.46%		483		2.28%		7,785		36.79%		21,162
	Nodaway		5,161		57.03%		3,553		39.26%		335		3.70%		1,608		17.77%		9,049
	Oregon		2,521		59.56%		1,568		37.04%		144		3.40%		953		22.52%		4,233
	Osage		4,154		67.24%		1,938		31.37%		86		1.39%		2,216		35.87%		6,178
	Ozark		2,663		62.05%		1,432		33.36%		197		4.59%		1,231		28.69%		4,292
	Pemiscot		2,750		45.38%		3,245		53.55%		65		1.07%		-495		-8.17%		6,060
	Perry		4,667		67.61%		2,085		30.20%		151		2.19%		2,582		37.41%		6,903
	Pettis		9,533		60.51%		5,855		37.16%		367		2.33%		3,678		23.35%		15,755
	Phelps		9,444		58.49%		6,262		38.78%		440		2.73%		3,182		19.71%		16,146
	Pike		3,648		49.63%		3,557		48.39%		146		1.99%		91		1.24%		7,351
	Platte		17,785		52.23%		15,325		45.00%		944		2.77%		2,460		7.23%		34,054
	Polk		6,430		62.46%		3,606		35.03%		258		2.51%		2,824		27.43%		10,294
	Pulaski		6,531		62.02%		3,800		36.08%		200		1.90%		2,731		25.94%		10,531
	Putnam		1,593		68.25%		708		30.33%		33		1.41%		885		37.92%		2,334
	Ralls		2,446		53.85%		2,033		44.76%		63		1.39%		413		9.09%		4,542
	Randolph		4,844		52.73%		4,116		44.81%		226		2.46%		728		7.92%		9,186
	Ray		4,517		46.34%		4,970		50.99%		260		2.67%		-453		-4.65%		9,747
	Reynolds		1,762		56.28%		1,298		41.46%		71		2.27%		464		14.82%		3,131
	Ripley		3,121		61.62%		1,820		35.93%		124		2.45%		1,301		25.69%		5,065
	Saline		4,572		48.87%		4,585		49.01%		198		2.12%		-13		-0.14%		9,355
	Schuyler		1,159		57.78%		808		40.28%		39		1.94%		351		17.50%		2,006
	Scotland		1,335		61.27%		790		36.26%		54		2.48%		545		25.01%		2,179
	Scott		8,999		57.30%		6,452		41.09%		253		1.61%		2,547		16.21%		15,704
	Shannon		2,245		59.38%		1,430		37.82%		106		2.80%		815		21.56%		3,781
	Shelby		1,936		59.44%		1,262		38.75%		59		1.81%		674		20.69%		3,257
	St. Charles		72,114		56.04%		53,806		41.81%		2,766		2.15%		18,308		14.23%		128,686
	St. Clair		2,731		57.63%		1,866		39.38%		142		3.00%		865		18.25%		4,739
	St. Francois		9,327		49.50%		9,075		48.17%		439		2.33%		252		1.33%		18,841
	St. Louis		224,689		46.15%		250,631		51.48%		11,564		2.38%		-25,942		-5.33%		486,884
	St. Louis City		24,799		19.88%		96,557		77.40%		3,396		2.72%		-71,758		-57.52%		124,752
	Ste. Genevieve		3,505		47.94%		3,600		49.24%		206		2.82%		-95		-1.30%		7,311
	Stoddard		7,727		62.04%		4,476		35.94%		251		2.02%		3,251		26.10%		12,454
	Stone		7,793		64.13%		4,055		33.37%		303		2.49%		3,738		30.76%		12,151
	Sullivan		1,877		61.26%		1,127		36.78%		60		1.96%		750		24.48%		3,064
	Taney		9,647		63.84%		5,092		33.70%		373		2.47%		4,555		30.14%		15,112
	Texas		6,136		61.78%		3,486		35.10%		310		3.12%		2,650		26.68%		9,932
	Vernon		4,985		59.29%		3,156		37.54%		267		3.18%		1,829		21.75%		8,408
	Warren		5,979		55.67%		4,524		42.12%		237		2.21%		1,455		13.55%		10,740
	Washington		4,020		48.64%		4,047		48.97%		198		2.40%		-27		-0.33%		8,265
	Wayne		3,346		57.22%		2,387		40.82%		115		1.97%		959		16.40%		5,848
	Webster		7,350		61.87%		4,174		35.13%		356		3.00%		3,176		26.74%		11,880
	Worth		651		56.22%		469		40.50%		38		3.28%		182		15.72%		1,158
	Wright		5,391		68.75%		2,250		28.70%		200		2.55%		3,141		40.05%		7,841
Totals	1,189,924	50.42%	1,111,138	47.08%	58,830	2.49%	78,786	3.34%	2,359,892

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

• Audrain (Largest city: Mexico)
• Bates (Largest city: Butler)
• Benton (Largest city: Warsaw)
• Caldwell (Largest city: Hamilton)
• Callaway (Largest city: Fulton)
• Carroll (Largest city: Carrollton)
• Chariton (Largest city: Salisbury)
• Clark (Largest city: Kahoka)
• Clinton (Largest city: Cameron)
• Crawford (Largest city: Cuba)
• Daviess (Largest city: Gallatin)
• DeKalb (Largest city: Cameron)
• Dunklin (Largest city: Kennett)
• Franklin (Largest city: Washington)
• Gentry (Largest city: Albany)
• Grundy (Largest city: Trenton)
• Henry (Largest city: Clinton)
• Hickory (Largest city: Hermitage)
• Howard (Largest city: Fayette)
• Iron (Largest city: Ironton)
• Knox (Largest city: Edina)
• Lafayette (Largest city: Odessa)
• Lewis (Largest city: Canton)
• Lincoln (Largest city: Troy)
• Linn (Largest city: Brookfield)
• Livingston (Largest city: Chillicothe)
• Macon (Largest city: Macon)
• Madison (Largest city: Fredericktown)
• Marion (Largest city: Hannibal)
• Mercer (Largest city: Princeton)
• Monroe (Largest city: Monroe City)
• Montgomery (Largest city: Montgomery City)
• Nodaway (Largest city: Maryville)
• Oregon (Largest city: Thayer)
• Pike (Largest city: Bowling Green)
• Ralls (Largest city: Hannibal)
• Randolph (Largest city: Moberly)
• Reynolds (Largest city: Ellington)
• Ripley (Largest city: Doniphan)
• Schuyler (Largest city: Lancaster)
• Scotland (Largest city: Memphis)
• Scott (Largest city: Sikeston)
• Shannon (Largest city: Winona)
• Shelby (Largest city: Shelbina)
• St. Clair (Largest city: Appleton City)
• St. Francois (Largest city: Farmington)
• Sullivan (Largest city: Milan)
• Vernon (Largest city: Nevada)
• Wayne (Largest city: Piedmont)
• Worth (Largest city: Grant City)

By congressional district

Bush won 6 of 9 congressional districts, including one held by a Democrat.^[3]

District	Bush	Gore	Representative
	20%	78%		Bill Clay
			William Lacy Clay, Jr.
	55%	43%		Jim Talent
			Todd Akin
		46%	51%		Dick Gephardt
		58%	39%		Ike Skelton
		36%	61%		Karen McCarthy
	53%	44%		Pat Danner
			Sam Graves
		62%	35%		Roy Blunt
		59%	39%		Jo Ann Emerson
		54%	43%

Analysis

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.

Electors

See main article: List of 2000 United States presidential 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^[4] 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:^[5]

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

See also

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

Notes and References

1. Web site: Midwest's unlikely bellwether: Missouri: Independent-minded Rolla, Mo., offers a snapshot of why key heartland states may tilt Bush's way.(USA)(Election 2000 - Swing States - Third In A Series) - The Christian Science Monitor | HighBeam Research . October 25, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121025215009/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-62411569.html . 25 October 2012 . dead.
2. Web site: 2000 Presidential General Election Results - Missouri.
3. Web site: Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections - County Data.
4. Web site: 2000 Post-Election Timeline of Events.
5. Web site: President Elect - 2000 . 2009-10-31 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120212174238/http://presidentelect.org/e2000.html . 2012-02-12 . dead .