Missouri--the most progressive state in the Union?

This week Missouri made the news when the Missouri Supreme Court unanimously rejected the Republican Secretary of State’s attempts to force through a new congressional map without first putting it to a vote of the people (who had requested a referendum via signature gathering). The heavily Republican-appointed court chastised him for essentially playing games with his position and ignoring the law.

The immediate practical impact of this decision is that, barring intervention by the US Supreme Court, Missouri will retain its 6-2 Republican-advantaged map rather than the 7-1 map President Trump had pushed the governor and legislature to adopt off-cycle. Retaining the old map essentially guarantees Republicans one fewer seat in Congress from Missouri and also actually leaves a competitive seat outside of St. Louis that could shift things even more.

This decision is yet another piece of evidence that Missouri is shockingly more progressive than most people realize. Don’t believe me? Then read on!

The Supreme Court’s decision comes directly on the heels of the people of Missouri resoundingly rejecting its governor and legislature’s marquee regressive tax proposal to eliminate the state income tax by a shockingly large margin of 83% to 17%.

Here’s where it gets interesting. The people of Missouri have been rejecting the policies of their elected representatives over and over and over again in the last decade since Republicans took control of both the Governor’s office and state legislature. Check these results out:

1. In 2024, voters passed an initiative increasing the minimum wage to $15/hour and adjusting it annually based on the CPI, and requiring employers to provide paid sick leave to employees; 58%-42%.

2. In 2024, voters amended the constitution to make abortion before fetal viability a constitutional right; 52%-48%.

3. In 2022, voters amended the constitution to legalize recreational marijuana; 53%-47%.

4. In 2020, constitutionally expanded Medicaid; 53% to 47%.

5. In 2018, increased the minimum wage to $12/hour; 62%-38%.

6. In 2018, legalized medical marijuana 66%-34%.

7. In 2018, passed election, campaign finance, anti-corruption, and anti-lobbying reforms; 62%-38%.

8. In 2018, rejected the governor and legislature’s anti-union “right to work” legislation; 33%-67%.

Every single one of these votes overcame intense lobbying, pressure, and media campaigns conducted by the governor and state legislature. And yet many of them passed by huge amounts and are more progressive than you would have found in many so-called “blue” states when they were passed, or than you would even find now.

Frustrated by their own citizens consistently overturning their policy through popular referendum, the governor and legislature actually sought to destroy Missouri’s initiative petition process on the same ballot as the income tax repeal measure this August, so that they could go back to making all the decisions for us without interference. I suppose they figure they are smarter than the people of Missouri and know what’s best for us regardless of what we want (quite the irony considering the anti-elite and often populist campaign slogans many of them were elected on).

Well, they lost that effort, too, by another massive margin of 80% to 20%. In fact, neither that nor the income tax repeal measure passed in a single one of the 114 Missouri counties or the City of St. Louis, and it wasn’t close in any of them.

I imagine many of you, especially if you’re outside of Missouri, are shocked by these consistently progressive results considering the reputation the state has and the makeup of its elected officials. Or possibly even after reading my last post about the state of my old neighborhood in Missouri. Although I’d suspect that even that grumpy old neighborhood voted for all of those people-powered reforms except the abortion one.

So what gives? Perhaps people feel like as long as they can overrule their elected officials on policy they can pick ones they are more comfortable with on culture? I’m curious what others think in the comments, from either side of the aisle. But, as I’ve said before, I’d caution anyone from asking the question “why do people vote against their own self interest” without thinking about it more, something I’ve gone deep on here in the past:

"Why do people keep voting against their own self-interest?" Lucas Kunce · December 7, 2024 Read full story

I hope everyone is doing well and, as always, if you find this interesting, please share it!

Lucas