Kehoe, Quade to face off in November

Jim Arnott was chosen for sheriff by a nearly 80% margin.

Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and state Rep. Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, won the Republican and Democratic tickets for governor in yesterday's election, setting the two gubernatorial candidates up for a face-off in November.

With 274,840 votes, Kehoe earned 39.4% of the statewide tally to run in the Republican spot for governor come Nov. 5, according to the unofficial results of the Aug. 6 election posted by the Missouri secretary of state's office. Quade, House minority leader and representative for District 132, secured 189,822 votes, or 50.2% of the vote tally.

Kehoe, Missouri's 48th lieutenant governor since 2018, came out ahead of Bill Eigel on the Republican ticket, at 32.6%, and Jay Ashcroft, at 23.2%. There were six other Republicans on the primary ballot.

“Tonight, we showed that hard work still pays off – that what you do is more important than what you say,” Kehoe said in a news release. “As governor, I plan to get things done for the people of Missouri – and there is so much to do."

Quade's next closest competitor in the Democratic race for governor was Hamra Enterprises LLC CEO Mike Hamra, who received 31.7% of the vote tally.

"I’m so honored by all the support Missourians have shown our campaign," Quade said on her campaign Facebook page. "I'm excited to hit the ground running and bring our message to every corner of Missouri: enough with the extremism and government overreach, it’s time Missouri has a leader who will fight for working families."

Bill Slantz, Libertarian candidate for governor, ran unopposed and picked up 2,414 statewide votes.

Constitutional amendments
Two constitutional amendments on the ballot yesterday had mixed results.

Amendment 1, calling for child care facilities to be exempted from paying taxes on property, was opposed by 54.7% of statewide voters.

The amendment was passed last year by the Missouri General Assembly, followed by approval in May by Gov. Mike Parson to add the issue to the Aug. 6 ballot, according to past reporting.

Amendment 4 got the nod with 51.2% of voters in favor. That constitutional amendment requires Kansas City to use more of its general revenue fund for its police force.

Top offices
A series of high-profile candidate races were decided on Tuesday.

Incumbent Greene County Sheriff Jim Arnott won 77.7% of the vote tally, according to the unofficial Greene County election results. Challenger Ben McMains received roughly 22.4% of the total.

For U.S. Senate, incumbent Republican Sen. Josh Hawley ran unopposed on his ticket. Lucas Kunce won the Democratic spot, with 67.7% of the statewide vote tally. W. C. Young was unopposed as the Libertarian candidate.

Dave Wasinger, an attorney from St. Louis, received the Republican win for lieutenant governor, with 31.4% of the vote tally. State Sen. Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, was second with 30.3% of the vote.

On the Democratic ticket for lieutenant governor, Rep. Richard Brown of Kansas City received 64.9% of the statewide tally, with Anastasia Syes getting 35.1%.

State Sen. Denny Hoskins of District 21 earned 24.4% of the statewide vote on the Republican ticket for secretary of state. On the Democratic side, state Rep. Barbara Phifer, D-St. Louis, was first with 40.9% of the vote.

Incumbent state Treasurer Vivek Malek won the Republican ticket with 41.5% of the vote, and Democrat Mark Osmack ran unopposed.

Andrew Bailey, incumbent attorney general, received 63% of the vote on the Republican ticket, defeating competitor Will Scharf. Democrat Elad Gross ran unopposed.

Unopposed libertarian candidates included Ken Iverson for lieutenant governor, Carl Herman Freese for secretary of state, John A. Hartwig Jr. for treasurer and Ryan L. Munro for attorney general.

Incumbent U.S. Sen. Eric Burlison, R-Missouri, got the nod for the District 7 seat with 83.1% of the vote. Democrat Missi Hesketh ran unopposed. Kevin Craig, Libertarian candidate for District 7, was unopposed.