2000 Missouri gubernatorial election
The 2000 Missouri gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2000 and resulted in a narrow victory for the Democratic nominee, State Treasurer of Missouri Bob Holden, over the Republican candidate, U.S. Representative Jim Talent, and several other candidates. Incumbent Democratic Governor Mel Carnahan was term-limited and could not run for re-election to a third term in office. However, he was killed in a plane crash on October 16, 2000, while campaigning for Missouri's Class 1 Senate seat. Lieutenant Governor Roger B. Wilson succeeded to the office following Carnahan's death.
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 County results Holden: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Talent: 40–50% 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Missouri |
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Coincidentally, Talent would later be elected at the 2002 Senate special election and defeated Mel Carnahan's widow Jean Carnahan to begin the rest of Mel Carnahan's unexpired Senate term. This was the only time between 1968 and 2020 that the winner of the Missouri gubernatorial election did not come from the same party as the winner of the presidential election held simultaneously. This gubernatorial election was one of the closest in Missouri's history. Bob Holden did well, as expected in St. Louis and Kansas City. Talent easily won most rural parts of the state. Holden did poorly in the St. Louis suburbs. However Holden's wins in the Democratic strongholds of St. Louis and Kansas City proved to be just enough to push him over the finish line. Because the election was decided by less than 1%, Talent could have requested a recount that his campaign would have to pay for since it was not below half a percent. However, most recounts never see a swing of more than 1,000 votes, and Talent was trailing by 21,445. Talent ultimately did not request a recount and conceded defeat on the late evening of November 14.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Bob Holden | 1,152,752 | 49.12 | -8.05 | |
| Republican | Jim Talent | 1,131,307 | 48.21 | +7.78 | |
| Independent | Larry Rice | 34,431 | 1.47 | n/a | |
| Libertarian | John M. Swenson | 11,274 | 0.48 | -1.92 | |
| Green | Lavoy (Zaki Baruti) Reed | 9,008 | 0.38 | +0.38 | |
| Reform | Richard Kline | 4,916 | 0.21 | +0.21 | |
| Constitution | Richard L. Smith | 3,142 | 0.13 | +0.13 | |
| Total votes | 2,346,830 | 100.00 | +0.07 | ||
| Democratic hold | |||||
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
- Audrain (Largest city: Mexico)
- Bates (Largest city: Butler)
- Chariton (Largest city: Salisbury)
- Clark (Largest city: Kahoka)
- Clinton (Largest city: Cameron)
- Daviess (Largest city: Gallatin)
- Dunklin (Largest city: Kennett)
- Franklin (Largest city: Washington)
- Gentry (Largest city: Albany)
- Grundy (Largest city: Trenton)
- Henry (Largest city: Clinton)
- Hickory (Largest city: Hermitage)
- Howard (Largest city: Fayette)
- Iron (Largest city: Ironton)
- Knox (Largest city: Edina)
- Lafayette (Largest city: Odessa)
- Lewis (Largest city: Canton)
- Linn (Largest city: Brookfield)
- Livingston (Largest city: Chillicothe)
- Madison (Largest city: Fredericktown)
- Nodaway (Largest city: Maryville)
- Pike (Largest city: Bowling Green)
- Reynolds (Largest city: Ellington)
- Schuyler (Largest city: Lancaster)
- Scotland (Largest city: Memphis)
- Scott (Largest city: Sikeston)
- Shannon (Largest city: Winona)
- St. Francois (Largest city: Farmington)
- Sullivan (Largest city: Milan)
- Wayne (Largest city: Piedmont)
- Worth (Largest city: Grant City)
- Buchanan (Largest city: St. Joseph)
- Clay (Largest city: Liberty)
- Jefferson (Largest city: Arnold)
- Mississippi (Largest city: Charleston)
- New Madrid (Largest city: New Madrid)
- Pemiscot (Largest city: Caruthersville)
- Ray (Largest city: Richmond)
- Saline (Largest city: Marshall)
- Washington (Largest city: Potosi)
- Iron (largest city: Ironton)
- Sainte Genevieve (largest city: Ste. Genevieve)
- Platte (largest city: Kansas City)
- Pettis (largest city: Sedalia)
- Pulaski (largest city: Fort Leonard Wood)
- Adair (largest city: Kirksville)
- Andrew (largest city: Savannah)
- Cass (largest city: Harrisonville)
- Johnson (largest city: Warrensburg)
- Caldwell (Largest city: Hamilton)
- Callaway (Largest city: Fulton)
- Carroll (Largest city: Carrollton)
- DeKalb (Largest city: Cameron)
- Oregon (Largest city: Thayer)
- Ralls (Largest city: Hannibal)
- Randolph (Largest city: Moberly)
- Ripley (Largest city: Doniphan)
- Marion (Largest city: Hannibal)
- Mercer (Largest city: Princeton)
- Monroe (Largest city: Monroe City)
- Montgomery (Largest city: Montgomery City)
- Macon (Largest city: Macon)
- St. Clair (Largest city: Appleton City)
- Vernon (Largest city: Nevada)
- Benton (Largest city: Warsaw)
- Crawford (Largest city: Cuba)
- Scott (Largest city: Sikeston)
- Carter (Largest city: Van Buren)
- Maries (Largest city: Belle)
- Morgan (Largest city: Versailles)
- Atchison (Largest city: Tarkio)
- Dent (Largest city: Salem)
- Phelps (Largest city: Rolla)
- Bollinger (Largest city: Marble Hill)
- Butler (Largest city: Poplar Bluff)
- Cole (Largest city: Jefferson City)
- Cooper (Largest city: Boonville)
- Harrison (Largest city: Bethany)
- Holt (Largest city: Mound City)
- Osage (Largest city: Linn)
- Perry (Largest city: Perryville)
- Putnam (Largest city: Unionville)
- Miller (Largest city: Eldon)
- Moniteau (Largest city: California)
- Shelby (Largest city: Shelbina)
- Stoddard (Largest city: Dexter)
References
- "MO Governor Race - Nov 07, 2000". Our Campaigns. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
- "Official Election Returns - November 7, 2000 General Election". Sos.mo.gov. Retrieved February 11, 2013.