ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - The 2024 election has come and gone, with keys issues in Missouri decided by voters Tuesday night.
Missouri Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and Missouri U.S. Senator Josh Hawley, as expected won their respective races for Missouri governor and Missouri U.S. Senate.
In the state, there were multiple ballot initiatives that were of focus for many Missouri, with Amendment 2, Amendment 3, and Proposition A being the most notable.
SLU Professor of Political Science Steve Rogers returns to KMOX Wednesday to break down the final election results for various Missouri statewide races and issues.
Amendment 2, which would legalize sports wagering in the state of Missouri, passed with 50.1% of the vote, according to unofficial election results from the Missouri Secretary of State website.
"There were less than 7,500 votes that made this amendment pass," said Rogers on 'Total Information A.M.' Wednesday. "So to put into context, if there was enough people that were attending the SLU-Dayton game at Chaifetz Arena, that be enough to kind of sway this whole election."
Amendment 3, the abortion ballot-measure initiative that would legalize abortion up until the point of fetal viability in the state of Missouri, also passed Tuesday, becoming the first major ballot initiative in Missouri to get called by the Associated Press. According to unofficial election results, support for passing Amendment 3 received 51.74% of the vote.
"Polls kind of predicted this would pass, but we're probably going to be talking about the issue of abortion for the next two, if not, even four years," said Rogers. "Because what needs to be happening is kind of settling a little bit about what is going to be the right to abortion within the state of Missouri?"
"So this is going to be an issue that will be taken up by the legislature and it may also be on the ballot again in two to four years."
Proposition A, which would hike the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour and guarantee paid sick leave, was passed overwhelmingly by Missouri voters, receiving 57.58% of the vote.
"On Prop A, there wasn't actually all that much advertising and campaigning going on, especially in comparison to Amendment 2 and 3," said Rogers. "But back in August (in a SLU/YouGov Poll), we expected there was going to be about 57% support for Proposition A."
"This was right in line with what we kind of found."