2000 Missouri lieutenant gubernatorial election

2000 Missouri lieutenant gubernatorial election

←  1996 November 7, 2000 2004  →

Nominee Joe Maxwell Wendell Bailey Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,201,959 1,014,446 Percentage 52.1% 44.0%

County results Maxwell:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Bailey:      40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

Lieutenant Governor before election Roger B. Wilson Democratic Elected Lieutenant Governor Joe Maxwell Democratic

The 2000 Missouri lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2000. Democratic nominee Joe Maxwell defeated Republican nominee Wendell Bailey with 52.14% of the vote. As of 2025, this remains the last time a Democrat was elected Lieutenant Governor of Missouri.

Primary elections

Primary elections were held on August 8, 2000. ^[1]

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Joe Maxwell, State Senator
• Gracia Yancey Backer, State Representative
• Catherine Powell

Results

Democratic primary results ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joe Maxwell	219,955	56.11
	Democratic	Gracia Yancey Backer	94,540	24.12
	Democratic	Catherine Powell	77,545	19.78
Total votes			392,040	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

• Wendell Bailey, former State Treasurer of Missouri
• Joe Ortwerth, County executive of St. Charles County

Results

Republican primary results ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Wendell Bailey	193,062	57.19
	Republican	Joe Ortwerth	144,503	42.81
Total votes			337,565	100.00

General election

Candidates

Major party candidates

• Joe Maxwell, Democratic
• Wendell Bailey, Republican

Other candidates

• Phillip W. Horras, Libertarian
• Patricia A. Griffard, Natural Law
• George D. Weber, Reform
• Ben Kjelshus, Green
• Bob Wells, Constitution

Results

2000 Missouri lieutenant gubernatorial election ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Joe Maxwell	1,201,959	52.14%
	Republican	Wendell Bailey	1,014,446	44.01%
	Libertarian	Phillip W. Horras	20,345	0.88%
	Natural Law	Patricia A. Griffard	18,244	0.79%
	Reform	George D. Weber	17,859	0.78%
	Green	Ben Kjelshus	16,738	0.73%
	Constitution	Bob Wells	15,681	0.68%
Majority			187,513
Turnout			2,305,288
	Democratic hold		Swing

References

1. "Primary Election- All Results" (PDF). Secretary of State of Missouri. 2000. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
2. "General Election- All Results" (PDF). Secretary of State of Missouri. 2000. Retrieved June 4, 2021.