United States presidential elections in Missouri


The tables below list the United States presidential elections in Missouri, ordered by year. Since 1904, Missouri has voted for the eventual winner of the presidential election with only three exceptions: 1956, 2008 and the 2012. Missouri has historically been viewed as a bellwether state, but the consecutive errors in 2008 and 2012 begun doubts about its continued status as a bellwether, and an 18.04 point Republican victory in 2016 indicated it to be a safe Republican state.

Table of winners

Elections from 1864 to present

YearWinner VotesPercentLoser VotesPercentOther national
candidates		VotesPercentElectoral
Votes		Notes
2020TBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBD—
2016Donald Trump1,594,51156.38Hillary Clinton1,071,06837.87-10
2012Barack Obama1,223,79644.38Mitt Romney1,482,44053.76-10
2008Barack Obama1,441,91149.29John McCain1,445,81449.43-11
2004George W. Bush1,455,71353.30John Kerry1,259,17146.1-11
2000George W. Bush1,189,92450.42Al Gore1,111,13847.08-11
1996Bill Clinton1,025,93547.54Bob Dole890,01641.24Ross Perot217,18810.0611
1992Bill Clinton1,053,87344.07George H. W. Bush811,15933.92Ross Perot518,74121.6911
1988George H. W. Bush1,084,95351.83Michael Dukakis1,001,61947.85-11
1984Ronald Reagan1,274,18860.02Walter Mondale848,58339.98-11
1980Ronald Reagan1,074,18151.16Jimmy Carter931,18244.35John B. Anderson77,9203.7112
1976Jimmy Carter998,38751.1Gerald Ford927,44347.47-12
1972Richard Nixon1,154,05862.29George McGovern698,53137.71-12
1968Richard Nixon811,93244.87Hubert Humphrey791,44443.74George Wallace206,12611.3912
1964Lyndon B. Johnson1,164,34464.05Barry Goldwater653,53535.95-12
1960John F. Kennedy972,20150.26Richard Nixon962,22149.74-13
1956Dwight D. Eisenhower914,28949.89Adlai Stevenson II918,27350.11T. Coleman Andrews/
Unpledged Electors		-13
1952Dwight D. Eisenhower959,42950.71Adlai Stevenson II929,83049.14-13
1948Harry S. Truman917,31558.11Thomas E. Dewey655,03941.49Strom Thurmond420.00315
1944Franklin D. Roosevelt807,80451.37Thomas E. Dewey761,52448.43-15
1940Franklin D. Roosevelt958,47652.27Wendell Willkie871,00947.5-15
1936Franklin D. Roosevelt1,111,04360.76Alf Landon697,89138.16-15
1932Franklin D. Roosevelt1,025,40663.69Herbert Hoover564,71335.08-15
1928Herbert Hoover834,08055.58Al Smith662,56244.15-18
1924Calvin Coolidge648,48649.58John W. Davis572,75343.79Robert M. La Follette Sr.84,1606.4318
1920Warren G. Harding727,16254.56James M. Cox574,79943.13Parley P. Christensen3,2910.2518
1916Woodrow Wilson398,03250.59Charles E. Hughes369,33946.94-18
1912Woodrow Wilson330,74647.35Theodore Roosevelt124,37517.8William H. Taft207,82129.7518
1908William H. Taft347,20348.5William Jennings Bryan346,57448.41-18
1904Theodore Roosevelt321,44949.93Alton B. Parker296,31246.02-18
1900William McKinley314,09245.94William Jennings Bryan351,92251.48-17
1896William McKinley304,94045.25William Jennings Bryan363,66753.96-17
1892Grover Cleveland268,40049.56Benjamin Harrison227,64642.03James B. Weaver41,2047.6117
1888Benjamin Harrison236,25245.31Grover Cleveland261,94350.24-16
1884Grover Cleveland236,02353.49James G. Blaine203,08146.02-16
1880James A. Garfield153,64738.67Winfield S. Hancock208,60052.51James B. Weaver35,0428.8215
1876Rutherford B. Hayes145,02741.36Samuel J. Tilden 202,08657.64-15
1872Ulysses S. Grant119,19643.65Horace Greeley151,43455.46-15
1868Ulysses S. Grant86,86057Horatio Seymour65,62843-11
1864Abraham Lincoln72,75069.7George B. McClellan31,59630.3-11

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.
YearWinner VotesPercentLoser VotesPercentLoser VotesPercentLoser VotesPercentElectoral
Votes
1860Abraham Lincoln17,02810.3Stephen A. Douglas58,80135.5John C. Breckinridge31,36218.9John Bell58,37235.39

Elections from 1824 to 1856

YearWinner VotesPercentLoser VotesPercentOther national
candidates		VotesPercentElectoral
Votes		Notes
1856James Buchanan57,96454.43John C. Frémontno ballotsMillard Fillmore48,52245.579
1852Franklin Pierce38,81756.42Winfield Scott29,98443.58John P. Haleno ballots9
1848Zachary Taylor32,67144.91Lewis Cass40,07755.09Martin Van Burenno ballots7
1844James K. Polk41,32256.98Henry Clay31,20043.02-7
1840William Henry Harrison22,95443.37Martin Van Buren29,96956.63-4
1836Martin Van Buren10,99559.98Hugh Lawson White7,33740.02variousno ballots-4
1832Andrew Jackson5,192100Henry Clayno ballotsWilliam Wirtno ballots4
1828Andrew Jackson8,23270.64John Quincy Adams3,42229.36-3

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 did not become president, a source of great bitterness for Jackson and his supporters, who proclaimed the election of Adams a corrupt bargain.
YearWinner VotesPercentLoser VotesPercentLoser VotesPercentLoser VotesPercentElectoral
Votes
1824Andrew Jackson1,16633.97John Quincy Adams1594.63Henry Clay2,04259.50William H. Crawford320.933

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." 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.
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.

Popular candidates

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