John Said:

Which presidential candidate took Missouri in the election last month?

We Answered:

It was McCain. I can't recall the exact numbers, but it was pretty close.

Basically, Obama won most of the urban and suburban vote while McCain won most of the rural vote. Missouri is mostly rural.

I live in St. Louis, Missouri.

Nicholas Said:

What would the outcome be if missouri had voted for barack obama?

We Answered:

Even if Florida had gone entirely for McCain and Missouri had stayed with McCain, Obama would have won. This last election was not particularly close in electoral votes as Obama got 95 more than was needed to win (which is more than New York and California combined).

If there was an election in which no candidate gets a majority, the Constitution provides that the House of Representative will choose between the three candidates with the most electoral votes. In breaking the tie, the House votes by state (i.e. each state gets one vote, majority of the delegation decides the vote) with a majority of the states needed to win.

Marcus Said:

Why is Missouri an important predictor in presidential elections?

We Answered:

I think the terms 'important' and 'predictor' are a bit off the mark. An important predictor would be useful in determining the outcome, but Missouri doesn't really provide us any useful information until election night, at which point commentators are likely to be fixed on larger swing states capable of deciding the election (i.e., Florida, Ohio, and Pennsylvania in the 2004 election).

As to why, I think it probably has to do with geographical placement between the north and south and between the midwest and the west. This makes it less likely to follow regional trends.

FYI, the same statistic that you referenced also holds true for Ohio.

Dwight Said:

Missouri chooses the next president?

We Answered:

Stevenson in 1956 was the exception.

Alfredo Said:

is missouri really that important in the 2008 election?

We Answered:

It's a bellwether state. The reasons these states matter is because Reps and dems usually end up winning all their designated states. So these states can tip the electoral college in one way or another.