The 2004 Missouri gubernatorial election was held on November 2, 2004, for the post of
Governor of Missouri
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
. The
Republican nominee,
Missouri Secretary of State Matt Blunt, defeated
Democratic state auditor Claire McCaskill. This gave the Republican Party control of both the governorship and the
Missouri General Assembly
The Missouri General Assembly is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bicameral General Assembly is composed of a 34-member Missouri Senate, Senate and a 163-member Missouri House of Represen ...
for the first time in 80 years.
McCaskill had earlier defeated
incumbent
The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election.
There may or may not be ...
governor
Bob Holden in the Democratic
primary. This was the first time a sitting governor of Missouri had been defeated in a primary and the first time any United States governor had lost in a primary since the
1994 elections.
Coincidentally, McCaskill's mother Betty Anne had previously been defeated by Blunt's grandfather,
Leroy Blunt, in a 1978 General Assembly election. Blunt's father
Roy Blunt was a Congressman and served with McCaskill in the
U.S. Senate from 2011 to 2019.
Republican primary
Campaign
Missouri Secretary of State Matt Blunt faced only token opposition in the Republican primary, easily defeating several lesser known opponents.
Results
Democratic primary
Campaign
Bob Holden had a difficult term as Missouri governor, starting at his
inauguration
In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inau ...
on January 8, 2001, which cost $1 million, and which he struggled to pay for. The
state economy suffered a downturn forcing him to make
budget
A budget is a calculation plan, usually but not always financial plan, financial, for a defined accounting period, period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including tim ...
cuts and the Republican party gained control of the
State Senate
In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states.
A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...
for the first time in 50 years.
Holden was
nickname
A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...
d by his opponents as "One Term Bob".
Holden announced that he would run for re-election in March 2003, blaming the Republican party for many of the problems during his term as governor.
However, Holden was challenged by State Auditor Claire McCaskill for the Democratic nomination, who said that she would be a stronger candidate in the
General election
A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...
against Blunt.
[
McCaskill attacked Holden for delays in ]education
Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...
funding, the state's deteriorating roads and increases in tuition fees
Tuition payments, usually known as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, are fees charged by education institutions for instruction or other services. Besides public spen ...
at Missouri's universities. Holden sought to defend his term in office and attacked McCaskill for the people she accepted campaign contributions from. McCaskill picked up most newspaper endorsements during the primary and won the primary on August 3 against Holden.
Results
General election
Campaign
After the primaries finished Holden and McCaskill met to unite the Democratic party for the general election for what was always seen as being a close race against Blunt.George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
during the campaign. McCaskill kept her distance from Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...
due to Bush's lead in Missouri.conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
stance on social issues and the strong showing of President Bush in Missouri helped him to victory.[
]
Predictions
Polling
Results
Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
* Platte (largest city: Kansas City)
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
* Audrain (Largest city: Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
)
* Clark (Largest city: Kahoka)
* Monroe (Largest city: Monroe City)
*Gentry
Gentry (from Old French , from ) are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. ''Gentry'', in its widest connotation, refers to people of good social position connected to Landed property, landed es ...
(Largest city: Albany)
*Oregon
Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
(Largest city: Thayer)
* Buchanan (Largest city: St. Joseph)
* St. Francois (Largest city: Farmington)
* Reynolds (Largest city: Ellington)
* Washington (Largest city: Potosi)
* Iron
Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...
(largest city: Ironton)
* Shannon (Largest city: Winona)
*Bates
Bates may refer to:
Places
* Bates, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Bates, Illinois. an unincorporated community in Sangamon County
* Bates, Michigan, a community in Grand Traverse County
* Bates, New York, a hamlet in the town of Elli ...
(Largest city: Butler)
* Chariton (Largest city: Salisbury
Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...
)
* Dunklin (Largest city: Kennett)
* Nodaway (Largest city: Maryville)
* Pike (Largest city: Bowling Green)
*Howard
Howard is a masculine given name derived from the English surname Howard. ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names'' notes that "the use of this surname as a christian name is quite recent and there seems to be no particular reason for ...
(Largest city: Fayette)
* Henry (Largest city: Clinton)
*Hickory
Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes 19 species accepted by ''Plants of the World Online''.
Seven species are native to southeast Asia in China, Indochina, and northeastern India (Assam), and twelve ...
(Largest city: Hermitage)
* Ralls (Largest city: Hannibal
Hannibal (; ; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Punic people, Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Ancient Carthage, Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War.
Hannibal's fat ...
)
* Randolph (Largest city: Moberly)
* Linn (Largest city: Brookfield)
* Callaway (Largest city: Fulton)
Notes
References
External links
Campaign websites (Archived)
Matt BluntClaire McCaskill
See also
{{United States general elections, 2004
Missouri
Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') 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 border ...
Governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
2004 in Missouri
November 2004 in the United States