Question

select the word that means one that leads or indicates what others will do. for most presidential elections in the twentieth century, missouri was a reliable bellwether state. between 1904 and 2004, in every election except one, the candidate favored by the voters of missouri was ultimately elected president. in 2008 and 2012, however, missouri voted republican, but democratic candidate barack obama won.

Explanation:

The passage gives an example of Missouri being a "bellwether" state in presidential elections. A bellwether is something that leads or indicates a trend (here, which candidate would win the presidency). The text shows that Missouri's vote was a sign (bellwether) of the overall election result for many years (except for 2008 and 2012).

Answer:

bellwether