Tracking Missouri’s Presidential Politics from 1992–2012

Until the 2008 presidential election, Missouri was seen as a bellwether: It had consistently voted for the winner in all but one race since 1904. But the state remained red for Barack Obama’s two terms, throwing its popular vote to the national losers and defying the adage “As Missouri goes, so goes the nation.” For a look at how the state’s politics have changed, we turned to Kenneth Warren, professor of political science at Saint Louis University, who co-wrote a chapter titled “The One That Got Away: Missouri’s Break From Ultimate Swing State Status” in the 2015 book Presidential Swing States: Why Only Ten Matter.