Ballot Measures, August 4, 2020
Missouri voters decided 1 statewide ballot measure on August 4, 2020.
Ballot measures
| Measure | Description | Result |
|---|
| Amendment 2 | Expands Medicaid under the ACA | Passed (53.27% yes) |
General Election, November 3, 2020
Missouri held its general election on November 3, 2020, deciding 180 legislative seats and 5 statewide offices led by the governorship. No chamber changed party control.
Highlights
- Republicans kept the governorship and veto-proof majorities in both chambers, while voters repealed the Clean Missouri redistricting system they had adopted two years earlier, changing who draws the post-census legislative maps.
- Gov. Mike Parson (R) won his first full term by about 16 points over State Auditor Nicole Galloway (D), the only Democrat then holding statewide office. The race turned out tougher than expected after his handling of the coronavirus pandemic dragged down his approval ratings, and Galloway built her campaign around that response. Republican incumbents also swept every other statewide office.
- Amendment 3, placed on the ballot by Republican lawmakers, narrowly passed despite being vastly outspent. It scrapped the 2018 plan for a nonpartisan demographer to draw House and Senate districts with an eye to partisan fairness and competitiveness. Instead, bipartisan commissions or appellate judges draw the legislative maps, under criteria that move compactness ahead of competitiveness. The measure also made smaller changes to lobbyist gift and campaign contribution limits. Amendment 1, which would have imposed two-term limits on the lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor, and attorney general, failed.
- Democrats' only legislative pickup came in Springfield, where Betsy Fogle (D) unseated Republican incumbent Steve Helms (R) in House District 135 by fewer than 80 votes after a manual recount. Their bid to break the Senate supermajority fell short when Sen. Andrew Koenig (R) beat Rep. Deb Lavender (D) by about 8 points in St. Louis County's Senate District 15. Senate Majority Floor Leader Caleb Rowden (R) also held Senate District 19 against former Rep. Judy Baker (D) by about 3 points. In Lee's Summit, Rick Roeber (R) won House District 34 by about 300 votes despite abuse allegations from his adult children that surfaced during the campaign; the House expelled him in April 2021.
- Beyond the Springfield flip, the only seat to change party and the only incumbent defeat, 3 other legislative races finished inside two points, and 82 had no candidate from one of the major parties.
Legislature
- House (163 seats): 48 D, 114 R, 1 other or vacant before the election, 49 D, 114 R after; control stayed with Republicans.
- Senate (34 seats): 10 D, 24 R before the election, 10 D, 24 R after; control stayed with Republicans.
Statewide races
Legislative races
Ballot measures
| Measure | Description | Result |
|---|
| Amendment 1 | Sets a two-term limit for lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state auditor, and attorney general | Failed (47.16% yes) |
| Amendment 3 | Addresses redistricting process and criteria, lobbying, and campaign finance | Passed (51.01% yes) |