Jonathan Dine, the Libertarian candidate for Missouri senator, took 6 percent of the vote in his race against Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill and Republican congressman Todd Akin.
MU Political Science Professor Peverill Squire said it’s unusual to see so much support for a Libertarian in this state because Missouri doesn’t have a tradition of voting for third party candidates.
Squire said support for third party candidates in Missouri usually stems from dissatisfaction with one of the major-party candidates, and that held true in this election.
"Mr. Dine’s performance is certainly much better than most people would have forecast," Squire said. "I think it’s pretty clear he picked up a lot of votes from Republicans who simply couldn’t bring themselves to vote for Todd Akin."
Dine ran for Missouri Senator in 2010 and won 3 percent of the vote.