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Missouri Finally Calls Its Election

By danieleisenberg | November 19, 2008 | +

From TIME’s David Von Drehle:

You can color Missouri red–finally. Half a month after the polls closed, all of the Show Me state’s 114 counties (plus the independent city of St. Louis) have delivered their certified election results to Secrettary of State Robin Carnahan. As expected, Republican John McCain narrowly won the state’s 11 electoral votes.

How narrowly? Out of almost 2.9 million ballots cast, McCain’s edge was 3,632–a skosh above one-tenth of one percent.

Obviously, the final count means nothing in terms of the next presidency. But it’s a bit of a jolt to Missouri pride, because the state has enjoyed an almost-perfect record of picking winners over the past century. The last time Missouri missed was 1956.

The key voting bloc may have been white evangelical voters, who made up nearly 40 percent of the electorate, according to exit polls. They voted more than two-to-one for McCain. Exiit polls also indicated that last-minute deciders tended to choose McCain, just barely lifting him across the finish line.

Missouri officials insisted that their counting procedures were routine. “This is what we do every time–but people were paying attention this time because it was so close,” said Laura Egerdahl, communications director for the secretary of state.

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  • Paul-no not that one

    More importantly I had 360 through 365 in my election night pool.
    Paul gets paid!
    That’s some wealth distribution I can get behind.

  • Joe Bftsplk

    I grew up in southern Missouri, 102 miles from a stoplight, or from anything to do. Heck, we even talked slow so as to stretch things out and pass the time.
    Wonder what there’ll be to talk about now?

  • cdservais

    Any word on whether Obama will request a recount? If the campaign has money to burn, and they can spin it as an effort to maintain Missouri’s status as a bellwether, why not?

  • Cliff

    But it’s a bit of a jolt to Missouri pride, because the state has enjoyed an almost-perfect record of picking winners over the past century. The last time Missouri missed was 1956.
    .
    Well, when it’s two weeks late and wrong to boot, then I say we lay the bellwether title to rest.

  • FlownOver

    Let MO be MO. Probably more valuable for ’12 to let them spend the next four years sitting in the corner, thinking about what they’ve done. There were an estimated 175,000 of us at Obama rallies in Missouri on a single day, so it wasn’t a question of effort or enthusiasm.

    You have to suspect there are a lot more than that for whom it’s just congenital. Either that, or it’s an inexplicable pride in remaining the “northernmost southern state.”

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  • stuartzechman

    Who are you?

  • exile500

    Our long national nightmare is over.

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