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The government of the U.S. state of Missouri is organized into the state government and local government, including county government, and city and municipal government.
While the state was originally a part of the Democratic-dominated "Solid South," the state transitioned into a national bellwether at the start of the 20th century. Its position in the Midwest allowed for the state to become competitive for Republicans much earlier than many of its neighbors. After voting Republican twice in its entire history up to that point, it became a near-perfect bellwether and voted for the national winner all but once from 1904 to 2004. [1] However, the state has not voted Democratic since 1996. [2] In 2008, Democrat Barack Obama became the first Democrat to ever win the presidency without winning the state. The state's rightward drift became apparent since, as in 2012, it voted for the losing candidate in consecutive elections for the first time since 1900. Republicans captured the state legislature and majority of House seats in the 2000s for the first time since the 1940s. Meanwhile, Democrats lost their last statewide office in the 2022 elections.
The fourth and last Constitution of Missouri, the state constitution, was adopted in 1945. It provides for three branches of government: The legislative, executive, and judicial.
The legislative branch consists of the state legislature, which is the Missouri General Assembly; it is bicameral & comprises a 163-member House of Representatives (the lower house) and a 34-member Senate. Members of both houses are subject to term limits: Senators are limited to two four-year terms, and representatives to four two-year terms; a limit of 8 years for members of both houses. [3] [4] [5] The state constitution provides that "The general assembly shall meet on the first Wednesday after the first Monday in January following each general election. ..The general assembly shall reconvene on the first Wednesday after the first Monday of January after adjournment at midnight on May thirtieth of the preceding year." As a part-time legislature, compensation is low, and most senators and representatives hold jobs outside their legislative duties. State legislators are paid $31,351 per legislative year. The General Assembly meets at the Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City.
The executive branch is laid out in Article IV of the state constitution. It is headed by the governor of Missouri. The governor is charged with executing the laws of the state. The governor is elected a four-year term and can serve two terms and must be at least 30 years of age, a Missouri resident for at least 10 years, and a U.S. citizen for at least 15 years before holding office. He can also appoint members of the Cabinet of Missouri. There is also the Lieutenant Governor of Missouri, required to have the same qualifications as the governor, who is an ex officio president of the state Senate. The lieutenant governor is allowed to debate any and all questions before the Senate as a whole and may cast the deciding ballot in case of a tie. Additionally, the lieutenant governor assumes the office of governor in case of the governor's death, resignation, or incapacitation. Missouri voters also elect the heads of several executive departments: the Missouri Attorney General, Missouri Secretary of State, State Treasurer of Missouri, and the State Auditor of Missouri. The requirements for holding these offices are the same as those for the governor, but only the State Treasurer has term limits similar to the governor.
The judicial branch (the state courts) is established by Article IV of the Missouri Constitution. The state supreme court is the Supreme Court of Missouri - it is the highest court. The Missouri Court of Appeals is the state intermediate appellate court. It is split into three districts: Western (based in Kansas City), Eastern (based in St. Louis), and Southern (based in Springfield). The state trial courts of general jurisdiction are the 45 Missouri Circuit Courts and Associate Circuit Courts within each Circuit Court.
Seven judges sit on the Supreme Court of Missouri, which meets in the state capital, Jefferson City. Unlike the life tenure appointments of federal judges (including the Supreme Court of the United States), state supreme court judges hold the judicial bench for 12 years, as do judges of the Court of Appeals. Circuit Court judges have terms of six years and Associate Circuit Court judges have terms of four years. There are no term limits for judges, though there is a mandatory retirement age of 70 years.
Missouri pioneered a unique way of selecting judges for its state Supreme Court and Court of Appeals in an effort to remove some of the partisan politics from the selection process. Article V, Section 25(a) of the Missouri Constitution specifies a process, known as the Missouri Plan, to appoint judges to the state Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and circuit and probate courts in the independent City of St. Louis, Jackson County (Kansas City), and any other circuit court where a majority of voters choose to adopt nonpartisan appointment (currently St. Louis County, Clay County, (St Charles County, Missouri) and Platte County). When a position becomes available in one of the above courts, a nonpartisan judicial nominating commission reviews applications, interviews candidates, and submits three nominees to the Governor. The Governor then appoints one of the three nominees to fill the vacant position. Finally, in the first general election one year or more after the appointment, the judge must be retained by the voters in a retention election before serving a full term. Judges for all other courts are elected directly by the voters.
Counties with more than 85,000 people may elect their own charters, smaller ones must use the standard charter dictated by the state.
Missouri allows cities to adopt their own charter should they chose to do so; it was the first state in the union to do so. Regardless of the freedom given to city governments, most municipalities choose to organize their local government around a mayor and a city council. Council members are typically elected in either citywide or district elections.
Year | Republican / Whig | Democratic | Third party(ies) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | % | No. | % | No. | % | |
2024 | 1,739,041 | 58.54% | 1,190,820 | 40.09% | 40,711 | 1.37% |
2020 | 1,718,736 | 56.71% | 1,253,014 | 41.34% | 58,998 | 1.95% |
2016 | 1,594,511 | 56.38% | 1,071,068 | 37.87% | 162,687 | 5.75% |
2012 | 1,482,440 | 53.64% | 1,223,796 | 44.28% | 57,453 | 2.08% |
2008 | 1,445,814 | 49.36% | 1,441,911 | 49.23% | 41,386 | 1.41% |
2004 | 1,455,713 | 53.30% | 1,259,171 | 46.10% | 16,480 | 0.60% |
2000 | 1,189,924 | 50.42% | 1,111,138 | 47.08% | 58,830 | 2.49% |
1996 | 890,016 | 41.24% | 1,025,935 | 47.54% | 242,114 | 11.22% |
1992 | 811,159 | 33.92% | 1,053,873 | 44.07% | 526,533 | 22.02% |
1988 | 1,084,953 | 51.83% | 1,001,619 | 47.85% | 6,656 | 0.32% |
1984 | 1,274,188 | 60.02% | 848,583 | 39.98% | 0 | 0.00% |
1980 | 1,074,181 | 51.16% | 931,182 | 44.35% | 94,461 | 4.50% |
1976 | 927,443 | 47.47% | 998,387 | 51.10% | 27,770 | 1.42% |
1972 | 1,154,058 | 62.29% | 698,531 | 37.71% | 0 | 0.00% |
1968 | 811,932 | 44.87% | 791,444 | 43.74% | 206,126 | 11.39% |
1964 | 653,535 | 35.95% | 1,164,344 | 64.05% | 0 | 0.00% |
1960 | 962,221 | 49.74% | 972,201 | 50.26% | 0 | 0.00% |
1956 | 914,289 | 49.89% | 918,273 | 50.11% | 0 | 0.00% |
1952 | 959,429 | 50.71% | 929,830 | 49.14% | 2,803 | 0.15% |
1948 | 655,039 | 41.49% | 917,315 | 58.11% | 6,274 | 0.40% |
1944 | 761,524 | 48.43% | 807,804 | 51.37% | 3,146 | 0.20% |
1940 | 871,009 | 47.50% | 958,476 | 52.27% | 4,244 | 0.23% |
1936 | 697,891 | 38.16% | 1,111,043 | 60.76% | 19,701 | 1.08% |
1932 | 564,713 | 35.08% | 1,025,406 | 63.69% | 19,775 | 1.23% |
1928 | 834,080 | 55.58% | 662,562 | 44.15% | 4,079 | 0.27% |
1924 | 648,486 | 49.58% | 572,753 | 43.79% | 86,719 | 6.63% |
1920 | 727,162 | 54.56% | 574,799 | 43.13% | 30,839 | 2.31% |
1916 | 369,339 | 46.94% | 398,032 | 50.59% | 19,398 | 2.47% |
1912 | 207,821 | 29.75% | 330,746 | 47.35% | 159,999 | 22.90% |
1908 | 347,203 | 48.50% | 346,574 | 48.41% | 22,150 | 3.09% |
1904 | 321,449 | 49.93% | 296,312 | 46.02% | 26,100 | 4.05% |
1900 | 314,092 | 45.94% | 351,922 | 51.48% | 17,642 | 2.58% |
1896 | 304,940 | 45.25% | 363,667 | 53.96% | 5,299 | 0.79% |
1892 | 227,646 | 42.03% | 268,400 | 49.56% | 45,537 | 8.41% |
1888 | 236,252 | 45.31% | 261,943 | 50.24% | 23,165 | 4.44% |
1884 | 203,081 | 46.02% | 236,023 | 53.49% | 2,164 | 0.49% |
1880 | 153,647 | 38.67% | 208,600 | 52.51% | 35,042 | 8.82% |
1876 | 145,027 | 41.36% | 202,086 | 57.64% | 3,497 | 1.00% |
1872 | 119,196 | 43.65% | 151,434 | 55.46% | 2,429 | 0.89% |
1868 | 86,860 | 56.96% | 65,628 | 43.04% | 0 | 0.00% |
1864 | 72,750 | 69.72% | 31,596 | 30.28% | 0 | 0.00% |
1860 | 17,028 | 10.28% | 58,801 | 35.52% | 89,734 | 54.20% |
1856 | 0 | 0.00% | 57,964 | 54.43% | 48,522 | 45.57% |
1852 | 29,984 | 43.58% | 38,817 | 56.42% | 0 | 0.00% |
1848 | 32,671 | 44.91% | 40,077 | 55.09% | 0 | 0.00% |
1844 | 31,200 | 43.02% | 41,322 | 56.98% | 0 | 0.00% |
1840 | 22,954 | 43.37% | 29,969 | 56.63% | 0 | 0.00% |
1836 | 7,337 | 40.02% | 10,995 | 59.98% | 0 | 0.00% |
Like the rest of the nation, the two dominant parties in Missouri are the Democratic Party and the Republican Party (whose state affiliates are the Missouri Democratic Party and the Missouri Republican Party, respectively). The state secretary of state also recognizes the Constitution Party and Libertarian Party as organized parties, [7] although only five Libertarians currently hold elected office in Missouri.[ needs update ][ citation needed ]
The Democratic and Republican parties have been responsible for establishing the voting districts, casting votes in the Electoral College, and fielding candidates for the general elections, and helping to determine legislative policy and priorities.
Missouri currently has eight House districts. In the 118th Congress, two of Missouri's seats are held by Democrats and six are held by Republicans:
Missouri's two United States senators are Republicans Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt, serving since 2019 and 2023, respectively.
Missouri is part of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri in the federal judiciary. The district's cases are appealed to the St. Louis-based United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
The Supreme Court of Maryland is the highest court of the U.S. state of Maryland. The court, which is composed of one chief justice and six associate justices, meets in the Robert C. Murphy Courts of Appeal Building in the state capital, Annapolis. The term of the Court begins the second Monday of September. The Court is unique among American courts in that the justices wear red robes.
The government of Maryland is conducted according to the Maryland Constitution. The United States is a federation; consequently, the government of Maryland, like the other 49 state governments, has exclusive authority over matters that lie entirely within the state's borders, except as limited by the Constitution of the United States.
The politics of the U.S. state of California form part of the politics of the United States. The politics are defined by the Constitution of California.
The results of elections in the state of New York have tended to be more Democratic-leaning than in most of the United States, with in recent decades a solid majority of Democratic voters, concentrated in New York City and some of its suburbs, including Westchester County, Rockland County and Long Island's Nassau county, and in the cities of Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, and Ithaca.
The politics of Oklahoma exists in a framework of a presidential republic modeled after the United States. The governor of Oklahoma is both head of state and head of government, and of a pluriform two-party system. Executive power is exercised by the governor and the government. Legislative power is vested in the governor and the bicameral Oklahoma Legislature. Judicial power is vested in the judiciary of Oklahoma. The political system is laid out in the 1907 Oklahoma Constitution.
Minnesota is known for a politically active citizenry, with populism being a longstanding force among the state's political parties. Minnesota has consistently high voter turnout, ranking highest or near-highest in recent elections. This is due in part to its same-day voter registration laws; previously unregistered voters can register on election day, at their polls, with evidence of residency.
The structure of the government of South Dakota is based on that of the federal government, with three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. The structure of the state government is laid out in the Constitution of South Dakota, the highest law in the state. The constitution may be amended either by a majority vote of both houses of the legislature, or by voter initiative.
The government of Virginia combines the executive, legislative and judicial branches of authority in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The current governor of Virginia is Glenn Youngkin. The State Capitol building in Richmond was designed by Thomas Jefferson, and the cornerstone was laid by Governor Patrick Henry in 1785. Virginia currently functions under the 1971 Constitution of Virginia. It is Virginia's seventh constitution. Under the Constitution, the government is composed of three branches: the legislative, the executive and the judicial.
As established and defined by the Kentucky Constitution, the government of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is composed of three branches: the Executive, Judicial, and Legislative.
The Government of Tennessee is organized under the provisions of the 1870 Constitution of Tennessee, first adopted in 1796. As set forth by the state constitution, administrative influence in Tennessee is divided among three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial.
The Government of West Virginia is modeled after the Government of the United States, with three branches: the executive, consisting of the Governor of West Virginia and the other elected constitutional officers; the legislative, consisting of the West Virginia Legislature which includes the Senate and the House of Delegates; and the judicial, consisting of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals and lower courts.
The Government of Mississippi is the government of the U.S. state of Mississippi. Power in Mississippi's government is distributed by the state's Constitution between the executive and legislative branches. The state's current governor is Tate Reeves. The Mississippi Legislature consists of the House of Representatives and Senate. Mississippi is one of only five states that elects its state officials in odd numbered years. Mississippi holds elections for these offices every four years in the years preceding Presidential election years.
The 2010 Oklahoma elections were held on November 2, 2010. The primary election was held on July 27. The runoff primary election was held August 24.
South Carolina government and politics covers the three different branches of government, as well as the state constitution, law enforcement agencies, federal representation, state finances, and state taxes. South Carolina is a state in the United States of America and was the eighth admitted to the Union. The state of South Carolina was preceded by the Crown Colony of South Carolina, a constitutional monarchy which was overthrown during the American Revolution. Presently, South Carolina's government is formed as a representative democracy.
The State government of Arkansas is divided into three branches: executive, legislative and judicial. These consist of the state governor's office, a bicameral state legislature known as the Arkansas General Assembly, and a state court system. The Arkansas Constitution delineates the structure and function of the state government. Since 1963, Arkansas has had four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Like all other states, it has two seats in the U.S. Senate.
The 2014 Wisconsin Fall General Election was held in the U.S. state of Wisconsin on November 4, 2014. Wisconsin's Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, and State Treasurer were all up for election, as well as Wisconsin's eight seats in the United States House of Representatives. The November general election in 2014 also featured a statewide referendum on an amendment to the Constitution of Wisconsin. The 2014 Wisconsin Fall Primary Election was held on August 12, 2014.
The 2020 United States redistricting cycle is in progress following the completion of the 2020 United States census. In all fifty states, various bodies are re-drawing state legislative districts. States that are apportioned more than one seat in the United States House of Representatives are also drawing new districts for that legislative body.
Kentucky state elections in 2018 were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018, with the primary elections being held on May 22, 2018. These midterm elections occurred during the presidency of Republican Donald Trump and the governorship of Republican Matt Bevin, alongside other elections in the United States. All six of Kentucky's seats in the United States House of Representatives, nineteen of the 38 seats in the Kentucky State Senate, all 100 seats in the Kentucky House of Representatives, and one of the seven seats on the Kentucky Supreme Court were contested. Numerous county and local elections were also contested within the state.
League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania et al. v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania et al.—abbreviated League of Women Voters v. Commonwealth—was a decision of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on gerrymandering, concerning the power of the Pennsylvania General Assembly to draw maps based on partisan advantage. The Court ruled that the maps adopted by the Republican controlled legislature in 2011 was an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander under the Constitution of Pennsylvania.
The 2022 Wisconsin fall general election was held in the U.S. state of Wisconsin on November 8, 2022. All of Wisconsin's partisan executive and administrative offices were up for election, as well as one of Wisconsin's U.S. Senate seats, and Wisconsin's eight seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. The fall election also filled the seventeen odd-numbered seats in the Wisconsin Senate and all 99 seats in the Wisconsin State Assembly for the 106th Wisconsin Legislature. The 2022 Wisconsin fall primary was held on August 9, 2022.
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