- Republican Gov. Mike Parson won reelection against Democratic challenger Nicole Galloway, according to Insider and Decision Desk HQ.
- Polls in Missouri closed at 8 p.m. ET.
- See the live coverage and full results from the most competitive US elections.
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Republican Gov. Mike Parson won reelection against Democrat State Auditor Nicole Galloway, according to Insider and Decision Desk HQ.
Polls in Missouri closed at 8 p.m. ET.
Races are called when the results indicate that the trailing candidate does not have a viable path to victory.
The candidates:
Parson, 64, is running for his second term as governor. The incumbent has a long history in politics, formerly serving as lieutenant governor and in the state legislature. He is also a third-generation farmer and Army veteran.
Parson has hinged his reelection bid on reviving the economy after the coronavirus pandemic doubled the state’s unemployment rate.
—Mike Parson (@mikeparson) August 22, 2020
Galloway, 38, has served as state auditor since 2015 and "uncovered more than $350 million in wasteful spending" by the state, according to her campaign website. She has built her campaign around ensuring money is put toward issues like making health care more affordable, blaming Parson for recent rural hospital closures and for 100,000 children losing their insurance. The state voted to expand Medicaid in a ballot measure in its Aug. 4 primary.
Previously, Galloway served as treasurer of Boone County. She holds a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics and economics as well as an MBA.
The stakes:
Galloway is the only Democrat who currently holds a statewide office. If elected in 2020, she would become the first female governor of Missouri.
Missouri's governorship has been hard to predict over the past couple decades, with both Democrats and Republicans elected to the highest office in the state. The state legislature is Republican-controlled. Moreover, nationally, the state has not voted for a Democrat for president since Bill Clinton in 1996. Trump won Missouri in 2016 with 56.4 percent of the vote.
The money race: Parson's reelection effort has raised $6.7 million, more than double the $3.1 million raked in by Galloway's campaign, according to the latest campaign quarterly filings from July.
What the polls say: Parson has held a consistent lead over Galloway, according to multiple polls tracked by RealClearPolitics.
What the experts say: The race has been rated leans Republican by Cook Political Report, Inside Elections and Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.
