Missourians Dump Holden; Pass Gay Marriage Ban

By KWMU

St. Louis, MO –

Tuesday night was a tough one for Missouri Governor Bob Holden.

His bid for re-election ended in Tuesday's Democratic primary with a loss to challenger Claire McCaskill.

McCaskill garnered about 52% of the vote to Holden's 45%.

It's the first time in modern political history that an incumbent Missouri governor has lost a contest within his own party.

KWMU's Matt Sepic prepared this report, which can be heard by clicking on the 'listen' icon above.

Missy Shelton also prepared a story about the governor's race, which aired on Morning Edition on Wednesday. You can hear that story by clicking here.

Voters also overwhelming approved a ballot question - Amendment 2 - that adds a definition of marriage to that state's constitution.

More than 1,000,000 - 71% of voters - approved the question. That means Missouri's constitution will now have a section that defines marriage as being between a man and a woman.

Missouri law already has such a definition, but supporters say a constitutional amendment would prevent judges from overturning that law.

Opponents claimed the change was unnecessary and would discriminate. But only voters in the City of St. Louis cast more no votes on the question. Every other county in Missouri saw tallies in favor of Amendment 2.

The vote could also be a boost for efforts to pass similar amendments in others states. Louisiana voters will answer such a ballot question next month. And at least nine other states have votes on a marriage definition planned in November.

This was the first time voters had the chance to weigh in on the issue since the Massachusetts Supreme Court legalized same sex marriage last year.