Ballot Measures, August 7, 2012
Missouri voters decided 1 statewide ballot measure on August 7, 2012.
Ballot measures
| Measure | Description | Result |
|---|
| Amendment 2 | Guarantees right to pray and worship on public property | Passed (82.76% yes) |
General Election, November 6, 2012
Missouri held its general election on November 6, 2012, deciding 180 legislative seats and 5 statewide offices led by the governorship. No chamber changed party control.
Highlights
- Missouri re-elected Gov. Jay Nixon (D) but handed Republicans a 110-53 House, past the 109 votes needed to override his vetoes without Democratic help. Republicans already held two-thirds of the Senate.
- Jay Nixon (D) beat St. Louis businessman Dave Spence (R) by about 12 points, winning a second term on the same night Mitt Romney carried the state by about nine points. Spence largely funded his own campaign, and Nixon spent a record $15.5 million.
- Democrats trimmed the Republican Senate edge from 26-8 to 24-10, leaving the two-thirds majority intact. In south St. Louis County, state Rep. Scott Sifton (D) ousted Sen. Jim Lembke (R) by about 1,600 votes in Senate District 1, leaving the region with only two Republican senators. Democrats' other gain came without a contest, as Jason Holsman (D) won the redrawn Senate District 7 unopposed.
- Democrats kept three of the four other statewide offices. Jason Kander (D) won the open secretary of state race over Shane Schoeller (R) by about a point and a half, the closest statewide contest, and Chris Koster (D) and Clint Zweifel (D) were re-elected attorney general and treasurer. Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder (R) held off Susan Montee (D) by about 4 points after spending most of his money on a costly primary against Sen. Brad Lager.
- On new maps, 6 sitting legislators lost in November, Lembke and five House members:Beyond those, 7 races finished inside two points; the tightest was House District 114, where T.J. McKenna (D) beat Becky Ruth (R) by fewer than 100 votes.
- Voters split the 4 November measures. They narrowly rejected Proposition B, which would have raised the cigarette tax from 17 cents a pack to 90 cents, and defeated Amendment 3, which would have given the governor more power over the commission that picks appellate judges, with more than 75 percent voting no. They approved Proposition E, barring the governor from setting up a health insurance exchange without legislative or voter approval, and Proposition A, letting St. Louis take its police force back from a governor-appointed board.
Legislature
- House (163 seats): 56 D, 106 R, 1 other or vacant before the election, 53 D, 110 R after; control stayed with Republicans.
- Senate (34 seats): 8 D, 26 R before the election, 10 D, 24 R after; control stayed with Republicans.
Statewide races
Legislative races
Ballot measures
| Measure | Description | Result |
|---|
| Amendment 3 | Grants Governor the power to appoint four members to the Appellate Judicial Commission | Failed (23.97% yes) |
| Proposition A | Requires that all municipal police forces or departments be controlled by the local governing body. | Passed (63.89% yes) |
| Proposition B | Imposes an additional $1 tax on each package of twenty cigarettes | Failed (49.25% yes) |
| Proposition E | Prohibits creation of a health insurance exchange unless created by legislature or initiative. | Passed (61.71% yes) |