Out of the seemingly infinite adjectives to describe politics in 2016, the one that came to mind is exhausting.
This year featured enough twists, turns, surprises, setbacks, revelations, triumphs and defeats to fill a set of encyclopedias. From competitive presidential and statewide primaries to epic general election battles, 2016 will clearly be remembered as a watershed year in the Show Me State's political history.
Admittedly, this reporter struggled with how to organize the year鈥檚 important events. Could I pair big news events with wrestling gifs ()? After minutes of wrenching introspection and soul searching, I decided to keep things relatively simple. Here's a baker's dozen worth of political events that defined a whirly-burly year in Missouri politics:
The St. Louis Rams transform into the Los Angeles Rams
, NFL owners provided a decisive crescendo this year to the NFL鈥檚 presence in St. Louis. They approved Rams owner Stan Kroenke鈥檚,
Sure, much of the Rams鈥� relocation saga focused on But politics was directly intertwined within a bid to build a publicly funded riverfront stadium, a messy process with long-standing implications on state and local politics. It鈥檚 obvious that backers of a St. Louis professional soccer stadium are taking hard lessons to heart,
The bottom line is, though, that the NFL is gone from St. Louis for the foreseeable future. the departure of a bad football team may be a net positive for the city鈥檚 psyche.
Ferguson agrees to a consent decree with the federal government
It wasn鈥檛
The consent decree requires Ferguson to substantially change its government and police department. It will cost the cash-strapped city a lot of money. But many hope the changes made within the city will provide guidance to surrounding municipalities.
Then again, it鈥檚 an open question whether President-elect Donald Trump鈥檚 Justice Department will legally push other St. Louis area cities to transform their governments. Without external pressure, changing one city may not make much of a difference on the lives of African-American residents 鈥�
Legislative ethics push gets mixed results
After high-profile resignations of House Speaker John Diehl and Sen. Paul LeVota, lawmakers from both parties promised that an ethics overhaul would be a major priority for the 2016 legislative session. And Gov. Jay Nixon signed a bill barring sitting lawmakers from
But curbs on lobbyist freebies ran into substantial opposition in the Missouri Senate. And s
Both Gov.-elect Eric Greitens and House Speaker Todd Richardson promised to keep pushing to revamp legislative ethics laws. Whether this effort overhauls the culture of the capitol is an open question.
Donation limits return to Missouri 鈥� for now
One reason some lawmakers didn鈥檛 like the focus of the aforementioned ethics push was that it didn鈥檛 include limits on campaign donations.
But conservative activist and businessman Fred Sauer which essentially ended the 鈥済rand experiment鈥� of Missouri鈥檚 unlimited campaign finance system. Voters backed Amendment 2 by a huge margin and, in turn, ushered in a new financial era for Missouri politics.
Still, there鈥檚 uncertainty about whether parts of Amendment 2 will survive legal scrutiny. Even if the amendment stands, the lack of
Missouri matters again in the presidential scramble 鈥� at least in the primaries
In the afterglow of a general election campaign that was, to put it mildly, absolutely bonkers, it may be easy to forget that GOP and Democratic presidential primaries were competitive. In fact,
In the weeks leading up to the primary, then-presidential hopefuls Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sander held sizable rallies all over the state. Trump鈥檚 events were particularly well attended 鈥� and extremely contentious. Protesters
Ultimately, Trump and Clinton narrowly Because Democratic delegates are allotted proportionally, Clinton and Sanders basically received the same number of delegates. Trump ended up with most of Missouri鈥檚 delegates, which helped him march toward the GOP nomination.
SJR 39 rocks the Missouri General Assembly
Arguably the most controversial fight within the Missouri General Assembly this year was SJR 39, a constitutional amendment that would allow certain businesses to deny service to same-sex couples. propelling it to the House Emerging Issues Committee.
Rep. Jim Hansen, R-Frankford, tearfully declared 鈥渢his law is, to me, asking me to play God 鈥� and I鈥檓 not God.鈥� His "no" vote effectively sunk SJR 39, and in turn delivered a big victory for LGBT rights in the Show Me State.
Initiatives such as SJR 39 may become less common over the next few years. Trump is widely seen as more accepting of LGBT rights than other Republicans. And Gov.-elect Eric Greitens
St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay unleashes m锚l茅e for mayor
In late March, Slay appeared ready to battle all comers to win an ultra-historic fifth term.
But Slay reversed himself on April 8, His stunning decision prompted at least seven candidates to file to replace him and opened a power vacuum within the city鈥檚 robust political community.
The race to replace Slay is already getting testy both through traditional media and on the World Wide Web. It鈥檚 safe to say that the outcome of this electoral scramble will be a major storyline throughout the first months of 2017 鈥� and beyond.
Republicans engage in epic statewide primaries
For the first time in decades, elections for most of Missouri鈥檚 statewide office featured no incumbents. That
Greitens, Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, John Brunner and Catherine Hanaway's scramble for the GOP gubernatorial nomination turned out to be one of the most expensive primaries in the Show Me State鈥檚 history. The fight feature a nearly endless string of debates, harsh advertisements and enormous influxes of direct and indirect money.
Primary season was also decisive for Republicans running for lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer and attorney general. Since Lt. Gov.-elect Mike Parson, Secretary of State-elect Jay Ashcroft and Attorney General-elect Josh Hawley all won their general election by landslides, it could be argued that winning their primaries was tantamount to election.
Bruce Franks shocks the system with resounding redo election victory
With one notable exception, Hubbard family members have been experts at winning election in St. Louis. But Bruce Franks pledged
It wasn鈥檛 easy, but Franks followed through. After narrowly losing the August primary to Hubbard, The result of the re-do election wasn鈥檛 close:
Franks will And he鈥檒l face much more scrutiny as a public official than an upstart challenger. But after cobbling together a diverse coalition to get elected,
Money and attentions flows into ballot initiatives
It鈥檚 not unusual for candidates to take center stage during an election season. But ballot initiatives can often provide an intriguing sideshow, especially when proponents and opponents spend big for their particular side.
This year, large and less large tobacco companies And
But proponentsHuge Republican turnout and a smallish opposition campaign ensured the passage of the longstanding GOP priority.
Thousands flock to Washington University for presidential debate
For a few days in October, Washington University The event attracted thousands of journalists, political types and protesters 鈥� and made Metro East native Ken Bone a superstar briefly.
The showdown came a few days after the release of a vulgar Access Hollywood tape that, at the time, appeared to torpedo Trump鈥檚 chances at the presidency. Most pundits believed Clinton outflanked Trump in St. Louis, but the debates ended up making a marginal difference in the outcome of the election.
While the debate featured lots of arguing and gasps from a lack of an opening handshake, it didn鈥檛 feature 鈥� even though Washington University is just a few miles from where Michael Brown was shot in Ferguson.
Kander and Blunt duke it out
National pundits initially gave Democratic Secretary of State Jason Kander But Kander鈥檚
Yet while Kander received high-profile assists from U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and , it wasn鈥檛 enough to beat Blunt. There鈥檚 little question that Trump鈥檚 huge win in Missouri boosted Blunt鈥檚 disciplined campaign.
Despite his three-percentage point loss, the same national pundits who doubted Kander鈥檚 Senate chances have floated the Kansas Citian鈥檚 name as Democratic National Committee chairman 鈥� or even a presidential candidate. But with Trump as president, Blunt鈥檚 practical influence gets a big boost 鈥� especially when it comes to recommending key federal appointments.
Trump ushers in Republican landslide throughout Missouri
Speaking of Trump鈥檚 big Missouri victory,
Gov.-elect Eric Greitens鈥� six-point win over Democratic nominee Chris Koster ensures that Republicans will have free reign to reshape Missouri鈥檚 government. Previously intractable initiatives such as 鈥渞ight to work鈥� and school vouchers now have a much easier pathway to implementation, thanks in part to Trump鈥檚 coattails.
The Nov. 8 election also leaves Missouri Democrats with an uncertain future, especially if the Republican dominance of rural Missouri is permanent. There鈥檚 little chance of the party being able to climb out of its superminority status in the legislature without gains in places like northeast, central or southeast Missouri.
Since Republicans now have complete control of Missouri state government, they also assume complete responsibility for how the state performs. And if Greitens and his legislative cohorts encounter controversy, they could face a less friendly reception at the ballot box.
On the Trail, a weekly column, weaves together some of the intriguing threads from the world of Missouri politics.
