Primary Election Update
Report from MPTA Lobbyist John Bardgett
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TO: All
Clients
FROM:John
E. Bardgett, Jr. - John
Bardgett & Associates, Inc.
DATE: August
10, 2006
RE: Primary Election Update
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While most of the voters’ decisions in the primary
elections were known by late evening on Tuesday,
August 8th, the results of the Republican primary
in the State Auditor’s Race were not finalized
until Wednesday afternoon when St. Louis County
completed its tally of election results. The
winner by a very slim margin is Sandra Thomas,
a CPA from the Western side of the state. She
edged out Rep. Jack Jackson, a former test pilot
from the St. Louis County area, by .06% of a percentage
point, just over 1,700 votes. The final tally
was Thomas with 29.1% and Jackson with 28.5%. Rep.
Jackson has requested a recount, which he is allowed
to request by law; however, he does not expect
that the final outcome will be changed. Sen.
John Loudon finished third in the primary. Because
Sen. Loudon was in mid-cycle, he was not forced
to give up his Senate seat to run for State Auditor.
St. Louis County’s delay in announcing election
results was a result of the transition to new electronic
voting machines. The County had the majority
of votes counted by Wednesday morning with the
exception of just over 2,000 votes outstanding;
however, it did not complete its tally until Wednesday
afternoon. The City of St. Louis, which is
notorious for its delays in announcing election
results, was the picture of punctuality with results
ready by 11 p.m. on Tuesday, August 8th.
Not surprisingly, Democrat Claire McCaskill and
Republican Jim Talent, vying for the United States
Senate seat currently held by Sen. Talent, both
easily won their primary elections with McCaskill
getting 80.8% of the vote and Talent 88.8% of the
vote. Susan Montee, the Democratic nominee
for State Auditor, also easily won her nomination
with over 70% of the vote. All of Missouri’s
nine Congressional incumbents easily won their
party’s nomination for another term. Each
face challengers in November; however, all the
incumbents are expected to be successful.
Missouri Senate
The hottest two State Senate races to watch on
August 8th were the 4th State Senate seat in St.
Louis City and the 10th State Senate seat in Kansas
City. Both seats are considered Democratic
strongholds in which the winner of the primary
election is all but certain to be the next senator.
- State Senate District 4: This
seat was vacated by Sen. Pat Dougherty because
of term limits. Five candidates sought
the party’s nomination including 1) Jeff Smith,
a political science instructor at Washington
University, 2) Rep. Yaphett El-Amin, 3) Rep.
Amber Boykins, 4) former Rep. Derio Gambaro,
and 5) Kenny Jones. Smith won nomination
by garnering over 36.4% of the vote. Smith’s
name was known in the district prior to this
race because of his candidacy two years ago for
the 3rd Congressional District won by Russ Carnahan. Smith
is considered the most liberal of the contenders
and has stated that his focus will be public
education and urban issues. To read a biography
of Jeff Smith, please go to http://jeffsmith2006.com/index.php?page_id=2. Jeff
Smith is unopposed in the November election.
- State Senate District 10: This
seat was vacated by Sen. Charlie Wheeler who
attempted to win the nomination for Jackson County
Executive. Sen. Wheeler lost this bid to
Mike Sanders. Like the 4th district,
the primary was crowded with four candidates
including 1) Kansas City attorney Jolie Justus,
2) former Rep. Jason Klumb, 3) Mike Flaherty,
and 4) Ingrid Burnett, wife of Rep. John Burnett
and member of the Kansas City School Board. Justus
prevailed in the primary garnering 32.8% of the
vote. Justus, an attorney, is known for
work in the areas of civil and human rights. To
find out more about Jolie Justus, please go to http://www.justusforsenate.com/page.php?c=about.
Other contested Senate primary races included
the following:
- State Senate District 2: Sen.
Scott Rupp, who replaced former Sen. Jon Dolan
in a special election in April, easily defeated
primary opponent Joe Brazil, 66% to 33%. Brazil
was considered to be a moderate Republican and
was known for his outspoken stances in opposition
to development in the St. Charles region. Rupp
will face Rep. Wayne Henke (D - Lincoln County),
whom he defeated in the special election, in
the November general election.
- State Senate District 8: Rep.
Bob Johnson (R – Lee’s Summit) challenged incumbent
State Sen. Matt Bartle. Johnson, a pro-choice
Republican, is known as being very moderate and
willing to challenge the party line. Bartle,
a strong pro-life Republican, is known for his
opposition to stem cell research. Bartle
easily won re-election receiving 60% of the vote. He
will face Democrat Jason Norbury in the general
election, but is expected to win in this heavily
Republican leaning district.
Democrats are hoping to reach 13 members in the
Missouri Senate after the November election. That
will require a pick up of an additional four seats
as well as holding two potentially vulnerable seats
currently held by Democrats.
- State Senate District 16: Sen. Frank
Barnitz (D – Lake Springs) currently holds this
seat in Central Missouri. Barnitz is considered
a conservative Democrat and appears to have strong
support in the district. He will face Susie
Snyders, a political newcomer, from Rolla, Missouri. Ms.
Snyders is expected to be heavily funded by the
Senate Majority Fund. This district is
relatively evenly divided on Democratic and Republican
performance. Prior to Sen. Barnitz,
now State Treasurer Sarah Steelman, a Republican,
held this seat.
- State Senate District 24: Sen.
Joan Bray (D – St. Louis County) currently holds
this central St. Louis County seat. Bray
will face John Maupin who the Republicans are
hoping can reclaim this seat formerly held by
former Sen. Betty Sims.
- State Senate District 18: This is an
open seat in Northeast Missouri formerly held
by Sen. John Cauthorn (R – Republican). Rep.
Bob Behnen (R- Kirksville) and Rep. Wes Shoemyer
(D – Clarence) will face each other in the November
election. Democrats are hoping that
they can recapture this seat which they held
for many years.
- State Senate District 22: This
seat is currently held by Sen. Bill Alter (R
– Jefferson County) who won the seat in a Special
Election. Alter will face former Rep. Ryan
McKenna, a popular Democrat in Jefferson County. McKenna’s
father, Bill, once held this seat. Democrats
are counting on regaining this seat in November.
- State Senate District 30: This seat
encompassing Greene County is currently held
by Republican Sen. Norma Champion. Champion
is facing former Rep. Doug Harpool of Springfield. Democrats
are hoping that Harpool can capture this seat
which has been held by Republicans for many years.
Missouri House:
While Republicans are expected to remain solidly
in control of the House of Representatives, Democrats
in the House, like their colleagues in the Senate,
are hoping to take a few seats from the Republicans’
97 member majority. The Democrats are hoping
to be competitive in at least eight seats.
The Missouri Legislature will convene for its
Annual Veto Session on Wednesday, September 13th
in Jefferson City. At this time, the Governor
is not expected to call the legislature into Special
Session to address Medicaid Fraud or any other
issues.
The November elections will be held on Tuesday,
7th and prefiling of bills will begin on Friday,
December 1st. The 2007 legislative session
will convene on Wednesday, January 3rd.
We hope you are enjoying your summer. If
you have any questions, please feel free to contact
us. Thank you.
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