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| 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 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 a turning point for Missouri's bellwether status; the state was notable for voting for the overall winner of the presidency throughout most of the 20th Century. Missouri ultimately proved decisive as Gore would have won the presidency with 278 Electoral votes had he won Missouri, regardless of the outcome in Florida.
Although Bush did win the presidency, thus 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.
As of the 2020 presidential election[update], 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.
- ^ "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. Archived from the original on October 25, 2012.