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Thegovernment of theU.S. state ofMissouri is organized into thestate government andlocal government, includingcounty government, andcity andmunicipal 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, DemocratBarack 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 lastConstitution of Missouri, thestate constitution, was adopted in 1945. It provides for threebranches of government: Thelegislative,executive, andjudicial.
The legislative branch consists of thestate legislature, which is theMissouri General Assembly; it isbicameral & comprises a 163-memberHouse of Representatives (thelower house) and a 34-memberSenate. Members of both houses are subject toterm 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. As of 2024, state legislators receive an annual salary of $40,000, as set by the Missouri Citizens’ Commission on Compensation for Elected Officials.[6] The General Assembly meets at theMissouri State Capitol inJefferson City.
The executive branch is laid out in Article IV of the state constitution. It is headed by thegovernor 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 aU.S. citizen for at least 15 years before holding office. He can also appoint members of theCabinet of Missouri. There is also theLieutenant Governor of Missouri, required to have the same qualifications as the governor, who is anex officiopresident of the state Senate. The lieutenant governor is allowed to debate any and all questions before the Senate as a whole and maycast 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: theMissouri Attorney General,Missouri Secretary of State,State Treasurer of Missouri, and theState 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 (thestate courts) is established by Article IV of the Missouri Constitution. Thestate supreme court is theSupreme Court of Missouri - it is thehighest court. TheMissouri Court of Appeals is the state intermediateappellate court. It is split into three districts: Western (based inKansas City), Eastern (based inSt. Louis), and Southern (based inSpringfield). The statetrial courts ofgeneral jurisdiction are the 45Missouri Circuit Courts and Associate Circuit Courts within each Circuit Court.
Seven judges sit on theSupreme Court of Missouri, which meets in the state capital, Jefferson City. Unlike thelife tenure appointments offederal judges (including theSupreme 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 amandatory 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 theMissouri Plan, to appoint judges to the state Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and circuit and probate courts in theindependentCity of St. Louis,Jackson County (Kansas City), and any other circuit court where a majority of voters choose to adopt nonpartisan appointment (currentlySt. Louis County,Clay County, (St Charles County, Missouri) andPlatte County). When a position becomes available in one of the above courts, anonpartisanjudicial 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 aretention 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. | % | |
| 1824 | 159 | 4.63% | 1,166 | 33.97% | 2,107 | 61.39% |
| 1828 | 3,422 | 29.36% | 8,232 | 70.64% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1832 | 0 | 0.00% | 5,192 | 100.00% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1836 | 7,337 | 40.02% | 10,995 | 59.98% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1840 | 22,954 | 43.37% | 29,969 | 56.63% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1844 | 31,200 | 43.02% | 41,322 | 56.98% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1848 | 32,671 | 44.91% | 40,077 | 55.09% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1852 | 29,984 | 43.58% | 38,817 | 56.42% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1856 | 0 | 0.00% | 57,964 | 54.43% | 48,522 | 45.57% |
| 1860 | 17,028 | 10.28% | 58,801 | 35.52% | 89,734 | 54.20% |
| 1864 | 72,750 | 69.72% | 31,596 | 30.28% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1868 | 86,860 | 56.96% | 65,628 | 43.04% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1872 | 119,196 | 43.65% | 151,434 | 55.46% | 2,429 | 0.89% |
| 1876 | 145,027 | 41.36% | 202,086 | 57.64% | 3,497 | 1.00% |
| 1880 | 153,647 | 38.67% | 208,600 | 52.51% | 35,042 | 8.82% |
| 1884 | 203,081 | 46.02% | 236,023 | 53.49% | 2,164 | 0.49% |
| 1888 | 236,252 | 45.31% | 261,943 | 50.24% | 23,165 | 4.44% |
| 1892 | 227,646 | 42.03% | 268,400 | 49.56% | 45,537 | 8.41% |
| 1896 | 304,940 | 45.25% | 363,667 | 53.96% | 5,299 | 0.79% |
| 1900 | 314,092 | 45.94% | 351,922 | 51.48% | 17,642 | 2.58% |
| 1904 | 321,449 | 49.93% | 296,312 | 46.02% | 26,100 | 4.05% |
| 1908 | 347,203 | 48.50% | 346,574 | 48.41% | 22,150 | 3.09% |
| 1912 | 207,821 | 29.75% | 330,746 | 47.35% | 159,999 | 22.90% |
| 1916 | 369,339 | 46.94% | 398,032 | 50.59% | 19,398 | 2.47% |
| 1920 | 727,162 | 54.56% | 574,799 | 43.13% | 30,839 | 2.31% |
| 1924 | 648,486 | 49.58% | 572,753 | 43.79% | 86,719 | 6.63% |
| 1928 | 834,080 | 55.58% | 662,562 | 44.15% | 4,079 | 0.27% |
| 1932 | 564,713 | 35.08% | 1,025,406 | 63.69% | 19,775 | 1.23% |
| 1936 | 697,891 | 38.16% | 1,111,043 | 60.76% | 19,701 | 1.08% |
| 1940 | 871,009 | 47.50% | 958,476 | 52.27% | 4,244 | 0.23% |
| 1944 | 761,524 | 48.43% | 807,804 | 51.37% | 3,146 | 0.20% |
| 1948 | 655,039 | 41.49% | 917,315 | 58.11% | 6,274 | 0.40% |
| 1952 | 959,429 | 50.71% | 929,830 | 49.14% | 2,803 | 0.15% |
| 1956 | 914,289 | 49.89% | 918,273 | 50.11% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 962,221 | 49.74% | 972,201 | 50.26% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1964 | 653,535 | 35.95% | 1,164,344 | 64.05% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1968 | 811,932 | 44.87% | 791,444 | 43.74% | 206,126 | 11.39% |
| 1972 | 1,154,058 | 62.29% | 698,531 | 37.71% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1976 | 927,443 | 47.47% | 998,387 | 51.10% | 27,770 | 1.42% |
| 1980 | 1,074,181 | 51.16% | 931,182 | 44.35% | 94,461 | 4.50% |
| 1984 | 1,274,188 | 60.02% | 848,583 | 39.98% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1988 | 1,084,953 | 51.83% | 1,001,619 | 47.85% | 6,656 | 0.32% |
| 1992 | 811,159 | 33.92% | 1,053,873 | 44.07% | 526,533 | 22.02% |
| 1996 | 890,016 | 41.24% | 1,025,935 | 47.54% | 242,114 | 11.22% |
| 2000 | 1,189,924 | 50.42% | 1,111,138 | 47.08% | 58,830 | 2.49% |
| 2004 | 1,455,713 | 53.30% | 1,259,171 | 46.10% | 16,480 | 0.60% |
| 2008 | 1,445,814 | 49.36% | 1,441,911 | 49.23% | 41,386 | 1.41% |
| 2012 | 1,482,440 | 53.64% | 1,223,796 | 44.28% | 57,453 | 2.08% |
| 2016 | 1,594,511 | 56.38% | 1,071,068 | 37.87% | 162,687 | 5.75% |
| 2020 | 1,718,736 | 56.71% | 1,253,014 | 41.34% | 58,998 | 1.95% |
| 2024 | 1,751,986 | 58.32% | 1,200,599 | 39.97% | 51,512 | 1.71% |
Like the rest of the nation, the two dominant parties in Missouri are theDemocratic Party and theRepublican Party (whose state affiliates are theMissouri Democratic Party and theMissouri Republican Party, respectively). The state secretary of state also recognizes theConstitution Party andLibertarian Party as organized parties,[8] 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 theElectoral College, and fielding candidates for the general elections, and helping to determine legislative policy and priorities.
Missouri currently has eightHouse districts. In the 119th Congress, two of Missouri's seats are held by Democrats and six are held by Republicans:
Missouri's two United States senators are RepublicansJosh Hawley andEric Schmitt, serving since 2019 and 2023, respectively.
Missouri is part of theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri and theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Missouri in the federal judiciary. The district's cases are appealed to the St. Louis-basedUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
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