United States presidential elections in Missouri

Presidential elections in Missouri

Number of elections	50
Voted Democrat	29
Voted Republican	19
Voted Democratic-Republican	2
Voted other	0
Voted for winning candidate	37
Voted for losing candidate	13

The tables below list United States presidential elections in Missouri, ordered by year. Since 1904, Missouri has voted for the eventual winner of the presidential election, with three exceptions: the 1956 election, the 2008 election and the 2012 election; it is commonly viewed as a bellwether state, though the consecutive errors in 2008 and 2012 have begun doubts about its continued status as a bellwether. In 2016 however, the state was won by a margin by 19 points, indicating it to be a safe Republican state.

Table of winners

Elections from 1864 to present

Election of 1860

The election of 1860 was a complex realigning election in which the breakdown of the previous two-party alignment culminated in four parties each competing for influence in different parts of the country. The result of the election, with the victory of an ardent opponent of slavery, spurred the secession of eleven states and brought about the American Civil War.

Elections from 1824 to 1856

Election of 1824

The election of 1824 was a complex realigning election following the collapse of the prevailing Democratic-Republican Party, resulting in four different candidates each claiming to carry the banner of the party, and competing for influence in different parts of the country. The election was the only one in history to be decided by the House of Representatives under the provisions of the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution after no candidate secured a majority of the electoral vote. It was also the only presidential election in which the candidate who received a plurality of electoral votes (Andrew Jackson) did not become President, a source of great bitterness for Jackson and his supporters, who proclaimed the election of Adams a corrupt bargain.

Election of 1820

In the election of 1820, incumbent President James Monroe ran effectively unopposed, winning all electoral votes except one vote in New Hampshire. The popular vote was primarily directed to filling the office of Vice President.

Missouri's participation in the election was a point of political dispute. On March 9, 1820, Congress had passed a law directing Missouri to hold a convention to form a constitution and a state government. This law stated that "the said state, when formed, shall be admitted into the Union, upon an equal footing with the original states, in all respects whatsoever."^[3] However, when Congress reconvened in November 1820, the admission of Missouri became an issue of contention. Proponents claimed that Missouri had fulfilled the conditions of the law and therefore was a state; detractors contended that certain provisions of the Missouri Constitution violated the United States Constitution.

By the time Congress was due to meet to count the electoral votes from the election, this dispute had lasted over two months. The counting raised a ticklish problem: if Congress counted Missouri's votes, that would count as recognition that Missouri was a state; on the other hand, if Congress failed to count Missouri's vote, it would count as recognition that Missouri was not a state. Knowing ahead of time that Monroe had won in a landslide and that Missouri's vote would therefore make no difference in the final result, the Senate passed a resolution on February 13, 1821 stating that if a protest were made, there would be no consideration of the matter unless the vote of Missouri would change who would become president. Instead, the President of the Senate would announce the final tally twice, once with Missouri included and once with it excluded.^[4]

The next day this resolution was introduced in the full House. After a lively debate, it was passed. Nonetheless, during the counting of the electoral votes on February 14, 1821, an objection was raised to the votes from Missouri by Representative Arthur Livermore of New Hampshire. He argued that since Missouri had not yet officially become a state, it had no right to cast any electoral votes. Immediately, Representative John Floyd of Virginia argued that Missouri's votes must be counted. Chaos ensued, and order was restored only with the counting of the vote as per the resolution and then adjournment for the day.^[5]

Popular candidates

Excluding two-campaign two-term presidents, including candidates who eventually lost

• Franklin Roosevelt - 4 times (4 terms)
• Grover Cleveland - 3 times (2 terms)
• Martin Van Buren - 2 times (1 term)
• William Jennings Bryan - 2 times (0 terms)

References

External links

• County-by-county results since 1860