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Missouri Secretary of State election, 2016
2020 →
← 2012
|
 |
August 2, 2016 |
November 8, 2016 |
Jay Ashcroft (R) |
Jason Kander (D) |
Governor • Lt. Governor Attorney General • Secretary of State Treasurer Down Ballot None |
March 29, 2016 |
August 2, 2016 |
August 23, 2016 |
November 8, 2016 |
TBD |
January 9, 2017 |
Missouri held an election for secretary of state on November 8, 2016. Republican Jay Ashcroft won the seat, which had previously been held by Democrats.
Overview
The secretary of state of Missouri is responsible for keeping official state records and has oversight of state elections.
Missouri has had a divided government since Governor Jay Nixon assumed office in 2009, ending a four-year Republican trifecta. However, Democrats also had trifecta control of the state government as recently as 1993 to 2000. The office of Missouri secretary of state has historically been controlled largely by Democrats. Since 1945, only two Republicans have held the seat.
State Senator Will Kraus, Roi Chinn, and private practice attorney Jay Ashcroft, son of former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, competed for the Republican nomination. Heading into the primary election, Ashcroft had led in fundraising. Kraus had been endorsed by a majority of Republican state senators, while Ashcroft was campaigning alongside former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee (R). Ashcroft defeated Kraus and Chinn in the primary.
Three Democrats, none of whom had previously held public office, competed for their party's nomination: former news anchor Robin Smith, MD Rabbi Alam, and Bill Clinton Young. Smith was the only candidate to report significant fundraising activity the month prior to the primary election. Smith won the Democratic primary.
Ashcroft won the general election on November 8, 2016.
Candidates
Robin Smith (D)
Retired news anchor
Jay Ashcroft (R)
Private practice attorney
Chris Morrill (Lib.)
Insurance and financial services professional
| Click [show] to see candidates that were defeated in the primary elections. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
Results
General election results
Jay Ashcroft defeated Robin Smith and Chris Morrill in the Missouri secretary of state election.
| Missouri Secretary of State, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Jay Ashcroft |
57.62% | 1,591,086 | |
| Democratic | Robin Smith | 38.45% | 1,061,788 | |
| Libertarian | Chris Morrill | 3.93% | 108,568 | |
| Total Votes | 2,761,442 | |||
| Source: Missouri Secretary of State | ||||
Primary election results
Democratic primary election
Robin Smith defeated Bill Clinton Young and MD Rabbi Alam in the Missouri Democratic primary for secretary of state.
| Missouri Democratic primary for secretary of state, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Robin Smith |
77.28% | 241,736 |
| Bill Clinton Young | 16.06% | 50,228 |
| MD Rabbi Alam | 6.66% | 20,836 |
| Total Votes (3214 of 3214 precincts reporting) | 312,800 | |
| Source: Missouri Secretary of State | ||
Republican primary election
Jay Ashcroft defeated Will Kraus and Roi Chinn in the Missouri Republican primary for secretary of state.
| Missouri Republican primary for secretary of state, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Jay Ashcroft |
61.33% | 401,361 |
| Will Kraus | 34.60% | 226,473 |
| Roi Chinn | 4.07% | 26,638 |
| Total Votes (3214 of 3214 precincts reporting) | 654,472 | |
| Source: Missouri Secretary of State | ||
Libertarian primary election
Chris Morrill ran unopposed in the Missouri Libertarian primary for secretary of state.
| Missouri Libertarian primary for secretary of state, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Chris Morrill (unopposed) |
100.00% | 3,491 |
| Total Votes (3214 of 3214 precincts reporting) | 3,491 | |
| Source: Missouri Secretary of State | ||
Context of the 2016 election
Primary elections
A primary election is an election in which voters select the candidate they believe should represent a political party in a general election. Primaries usually take place several months before a general election. Missouri utilizes an open primary system, in which registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.[1][2][3]
Missouri's primary elections took place on August 2, 2016.
Incumbent Jason Kander (D)
Incumbent Jason Kander (D) was first elected in 2012, narrowly defeating Republican state Rep. Shane Schoeller by a 1.5 percent margin; the race was open after incumbent Robin Carnahan (D), daughter of former Governor Mel Carnahan (D), declined to seek re-election. Kander had also previously served in the Missouri House of Representatives, representing District 44 from 2009 to 2013. Prior to his career in state government, Kander served as a military intelligence officer for the United States Army, and as a political science instructor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Kander did not run for re-election as secretary of state in 2016, instead making a bid for a seat representing Missouri in the U.S. Senate.
Party control in Missouri
Missouri had a divided government after Governor Jay Nixon (D) assumed office in 2009, which ended a four-year Republican trifecta. Prior to that, Democrats had trifecta control of the state government from 1993 to 2000. The governorship in Missouri tended to alternate party hands from the 1970s to the 2016 election, with no party controlling the seat for more than 12 years continuously. Democrat Claire McCaskill represented Missouri in the U.S. Senate from 2007 to the 2016 election; she served alongside Roy Blunt (R), who was elected in 2011.
Campaigns
Primary elections
None of the three candidates who filed to run in the Democratic primary had ever held elected office at the time they declared candidacy. MD Rabbi Alam previously ran for secretary of state in the 2012 Democratic primary but lost to Jason Kander. Bill Clinton Young had previously sought the Democratic nomination for a seat in the Missouri House of Representatives but lost to Bonnaye Mims. The third candidate, Robin Smith, had never previously sought elected office. Smith was a news anchor for over forty years; she was the only candidate to report significant fundraising activity heading into the primary election. Smith ultimately won the Democratic nomination.
Will Kraus was the only Republican candidate to have held elected office before filing for the office of secretary of state. He served three terms in the Missouri House of Representatives and was elected twice to the Missouri State Senate. The other two candidates both ran unsuccessfully for the state senate: Jay Ashcroft, a private practice attorney and the son of former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, ran in 2014; and Roi Chinn ran in 2010. Heading into the primary election, Ashcroft had raised significantly more cash than Schaefer and Chinn, though Kraus had earned key endorsements from several members of the state legislature. Ashcroft won the Republican primary election on August 2.
Chris Morrill, an insurance fraud investigator, filed to run as a Libertarian and was unopposed in the August 2 Libertarian primary. He was the only candidate to file a third party bid.
Campaign media
Note: If a candidate is not listed below, Ballotpedia staff were unable to locate any campaign media for that candidate. Do you know of any? Tell us!
Democrats
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Republicans
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Libertarians
| Chris Morrill (Lib.) |  
|
Endorsements
| Key endorsements, Republican primary candidates | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Will Kraus | Jay Ashcroft | Roi Chinn | |||||||
| Missouri Cattlemen's Association | Former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee (R) | Know of an endorsement for this candidate? Tell us! | |||||||
| Former Missouri Treasurer Sarah Steelman (R) | Missouri Eagle Forum | ||||||||
| Senate President Pro Tempore Ron Richard (R) | Right to Life | ||||||||
| Senate Majority Floor Leader Mike Kehoe (R) | Veterans in Defense of Liberty PAC | ||||||||
| Senate Majority Whip Brian Munzlinger (R) | |||||||||
| State House Speaker Pro Tempore Denny Hoskins (R) | |||||||||
| House Majority Floor Leader Mike Cierpiot (R) | |||||||||
| Right to Life | |||||||||
| National Rifle Association | |||||||||
| What is a key endorsement? | |||||||||
| Key endorsements, Democratic primary candidates | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MD Rabbi Alam | Robin Smith | Bill Clinton Young | |||||||
| Know of any endorsements for this candidate? Tell us! | Missouri AFL-CIO | Know of any endorsements for this candidate? Tell us! | |||||||
| Missouri Teamsters | |||||||||
| What is a key endorsement? | |||||||||
Campaign finance
Note: If a candidate does not appear below, he or she did not meet or exceed minimum reporting requirements.
General election candidates
| Jay Ashcroft Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| 10/1/2015-12/31/2015 | 1/15/2016 | $88,405.76 | $108,769.30 | $(21,243.07) | $174,049.25 | ||||
| 1/1/2016-3/31/2016 | 4/15/2016 | $174,049.25 | $383,572.74 | $(31,342.51) | $531,101.73 | ||||
| Second quarter | 4/1/2016-6/30/2016 | $531,125.46 | $213,248.06 | $(104,016.24) | $623,676.79 | ||||
| Pre-primary | 7/1/2016-7/21/2016 | $623,676.79 | $11,410.00 | $(604,306.56) | $52,087.99 | ||||
| 30 days after primary | 9/1/2016 | $52,087.99 | $63,547.20 | $(37,016.09) | $71,025.03 | ||||
| October quarterly report | 10/17/2016 | $71,025.03 | $367,876.00 | $(46,677.58) | $397,129.28 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $1,148,423.3 | $(844,602.05) | ||||||||
| Robin Smith Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| 10/1/2015-12/31/2015 | 1/15/2016 | $81,709.83 | $68,756.00 | $(62,395.15) | $68,070.68 | ||||
| 1/1/2016-3/31/2016 | 4/15/2016 | $68,070.68 | $59,372.53 | $(31,513.12) | $95,570.09 | ||||
| Second quarter | 4/1/2016-6/30/2016 | $95,570.09 | $162,871.72 | $(29,579.62) | $226,812.19 | ||||
| Pre-primary | 7/1/2016-7/21/2016 | $226,812.19 | $10,845.00 | $(18,905.51) | $218,751.68 | ||||
| 30 days after primary | 9/1/2016 | $218,751.68 | $136,344.62 | $(41,006.17) | $314,090.13 | ||||
| October quarterly report | 10/17/2016 | $314,090.13 | $63,628.06 | $(35,682.89) | $349,641.78 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $501,817.93 | $(219,082.46) | ||||||||
Primary candidates
| Will Kraus Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| 10/1/2015-12/31/2015 | 1/15/2016 | $614,990.86 | $68,716.97 | $(14,517.51) | $667,885.35 | ||||
| 1/1/2016-3/31/2016 | 4/15/2016 | $667,885.35 | $77,927.62 | $(44,707.58) | $723,257.77 | ||||
| Second quarter | 4/1/2016-6/30/2016 | $723,257.77 | $128,426.00 | $(23,019.60) | $797,316.17 | ||||
| Pre-primary | 7/1/2016-7/21/2016 | $797,316.17 | $126,842.67 | $(891,174.48) | $3,467.69 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $401,913.26 | $(973,419.17) | ||||||||
| Roi Chinn Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| 1/1/2016-3/31/2016 | 1/15/2016 | $0 | $0 | $(0) | $0 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $0 | $(0) | ||||||||
About the office
The secretary of state for Missouri is a member of the executive branch of government and has constitutional as well as statutory duties in the state of Missouri. The secretary of state keeps a register of the official acts of the governor, is the custodian of the seal of the state, maintains state records and documents, and oversees the state's elections. The secretary is elected every four years.
Incumbent
The incumbent was Democrat Jason Kander. Kander was first elected on November 6, 2012, and sworn into office on January 14, 2013. His predecessor, Robin Carnahan (D), did not seek re-election in 2012.
Qualifications
Here is a list of the standard qualifications necessary under Missouri State Law in order to be considered for the office of Secretary of State:
- Must be a citizen of the United States
- Must be a legal resident of the state for one year immediately preceding election or appointment
- Is not delinquent in the payment of any state income taxes, personal property taxes or real property taxes on the place of residence as stated in the declaration of candidacy
- Is not a past or present corporate officer of any fee office that owes any taxes to the state
- Has not been found guilty of or pled guilty to a felony or misdemeanor under the federal laws of the United States of America
- Has not been convicted of or found guilty of or pled guilty to a felony under the laws of Missouri[4]
Authority
The state Constitution addresses the office of secretary of state in Article IV, the Executive Department.
Under Article IV, Section 14:
|
The secretary of state shall be custodian of the seal of the state, and authenticate therewith all official acts of the governor except the approval of laws... |
Past elections
2012
Incumbent Robin Carnahan (D) did not run for re-election in 2012. Jason Kander (D) defeated Shane Schoeller (R) for the open seat in the general election on November 6, 2012.[5]
- 2012 General Election for Missouri Secretary of State
| Missouri Secretary of State General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Jason Kander |
48.9% | 1,298,022 | |
| Republican | Shane Schoeller | 47.4% | 1,258,937 | |
| Libertarian | Cisse Spragins | 2.7% | 70,814 | |
| Constitution | Justin Harter | 1% | 27,710 | |
| Total Votes | 2,655,483 | |||
| Election results via Missouri Secretary of State | ||||
2008
- 2008 Race for Secretary of State - Democratic Primary
- Robin Carnahan ran unopposed in this contest
| 2008 Race for Secretary of State - General Election[6] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Democratic Party |  Robin Carnahan
|
61.8% | |
| Republican Party | Mitchell Hubbard | 35.6% | |
| Libertarian Party | Wes Upchurch | 1.4% | |
| Constitution Party | Denise C. Neely | 1.2% | |
| Total Votes | 2,829,810 | ||
2004
- 2004 Race for Secretary of State - Democratic Primary
- Robin Carnahan ran unopposed in this contest
| 2004 Race for Secretary of State - General Election[7] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Democratic Party | Robin Carnahan
|
51.1% | |
| Republican Party | Catherine Hanaway | 46.4% | |
| Libertarian Party | Christopher Davis | 1.9% | |
| Constitution Party | Donna Ivanovich | 0.6% | |
| Total Votes | 2,678,326 | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Missouri secretary of state election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
State profile
| Demographic data for Missouri | ||
|---|---|---|
| Missouri | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 6,076,204 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 68,742 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 82.6% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 11.5% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 1.8% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.4% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.4% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 3.9% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 88.4% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 27.1% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $48,173 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 18.2% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Missouri. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Missouri
Missouri voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
More Missouri coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Missouri
- United States congressional delegations from Missouri
- Public policy in Missouri
- Endorsers in Missouri
- Missouri fact checks
- More...
See also
|
Missouri government: |
Previous elections: |
Ballotpedia exclusives: |
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures Website, "State Primary Election Types," accessed January 6, 2014
- ↑ Fair Vote, "Congressional and Presidential Primaries: Open, Closed, Semi-Closed, and 'Top Two,'" accessed January 6, 2014
- ↑ Ballotpedia research conducted December 26, 2013, through January 3, 2014, researching and analyzing various state websites and codes.
- ↑ Missouri Secretary of State - Elected Officials Qualifications
- ↑ Missouri Secretary of State, "November 6, 2012 General Election Results," accessed November 7, 2012
- ↑ State of Missouri - Official Results 2008 General Election
- ↑ State of Missouri - Official Results 2004 General Election
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