The 2012 Missouri gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2012, to elect the
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
of
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
. Incumbent Democratic Governor
Jay Nixon won re-election against the Republican nominee, businessman
Dave Spence
Dave Spence (born February 28, 1958) is an American corporate executive and politician. He was the Republican nominee for governor of Missouri in the 2012 election, losing the general election to incumbent Democrat Jay Nixon.
Early life and ...
, despite incumbent President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
losing Missouri on the same day to Republican nominee
Mitt Romney
Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts f ...
. , this was the last time a Democrat won the governorship of Missouri.
Democratic primary
Candidates
* William Campbell
*
Jay Nixon, incumbent governor
* Clay Thunderhawk
[
]
Results
The Democratic primary was held on August 8, 2012.
Republican primary
Candidates
* Bill Randles, businessman and corporate defense lawyer
* Fred Sauer, investment executive and anti-abortion
Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life or abolitionist movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in respons ...
activist[
* ]Dave Spence
Dave Spence (born February 28, 1958) is an American corporate executive and politician. He was the Republican nominee for governor of Missouri in the 2012 election, losing the general election to incumbent Democrat Jay Nixon.
Early life and ...
, businessman[
* John Weiler][
]
Polling
Results
Libertarian primary
Candidates
* Jim Higgins, former officer of the Libertarian Party of Missouri
The Libertarian Party of Missouri is the Missouri affiliate of the Libertarian Party. The state chair is Bill Slantz. Due to the state's low threshold of vote percentage required for ballot access (2% of the votes in a statewide race), the party ...
[
]
Declined
* Leonard Steinman[
]
Results
General election
Debates
Complete video of debate
C-SPAN
Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN ) is an American cable and satellite television network that was created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises many proceedings of the United States ...
, September 21, 2012
Predictions
Polling
;Republican primary
;General election
Results
Nixon won with a comfortable 12.3% margin, somewhat closer than his 2008 victory. Even with President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
losing the state by a nine-point margin, Nixon and Senator Claire McCaskill both won reelection easily. Like his Senatorial colleague, Nixon was able to get a huge number of votes from rural areas. Both Nixon and McCaskill were declared the winners of their respective races even before the known Democratic strongholds of St. Louis and Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
came in.
By congressional district
Nixon won 5 of 8 congressional districts.
See also
* 2012 United States gubernatorial elections
United States gubernatorial elections were held in 12 states (including a recall election in Wisconsin on June 5) and two territories. Of the eight Democratic and four Republican seats contested, only that of North Carolina changed party hands, ...
* 2012 United States Senate election in Missouri
The 2012 United States Senate election in Missouri was held on November 6, 2012, concurrently with the 2012 presidential election, other elections to the United States Senate in other states, as well as elections to the United States House of R ...
*
* 2012 United States presidential election in Missouri
The 2012 United States presidential election in Missouri took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the 2012 United States presidential election, in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Missouri voters chose 10 electo ...
* 2012 Missouri lieutenant gubernatorial election
The 2012 Missouri lieutenant gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Republican Peter Kinder faced Democratic nominee and former state auditor Susan Montee, Libertarian Matthew Copple, and the Constitution Party nominee, f ...
* 2012 Missouri Attorney General election
The 2012 Missouri Attorney General election was held on November 6, 2012, alongside the 2012 United States presidential election in Missouri, presidential and 2012 Missouri gubernatorial election, gubernatorial elections. The incumbent Missouri ...
* 2012 Missouri State Treasurer election
The 2012 Missouri State Treasurer election was held on November 6, 2012, alongside the presidential and gubernatorial elections. Incumbent Democratic State Treasurer Clint Zweifel was re-elected to a second term against Republican State Represent ...
* 2012 Missouri Secretary of State election
The Missouri Secretary of State election, 2012 was held on November 6, 2012, alongside the presidential and gubernatorial elections. Democratic State Representative Jason Kander defeated Republican Speaker Pro Tem Shane Schoeller by 39,085 vote ...
* Political party strength in Missouri
The following table indicates the party of elected officials in the U.S. state of Missouri:
*List of governors of Missouri, Governor
*List of lieutenant governors of Missouri, Lieutenant Governor
*List of Missouri secretaries of state, Secretary ...
References
External links
Elections
from the Missouri Secretary of State
;Campaign sites (Archived)
Jay Nixon for GovernorDave Spence for GovernorJim Higgins for Governor
{{2012 United States elections
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...