Election day has officially passed Show Mo Facts readers! While we are still waiting for all the remaining ballots to be counted across the country, it is clear that the “red wave” that was being predicted nationally never materialized. The results in Missouri are more complicated.
Before we get into the races, we’d like to break down what amendments passed in Missouri. Missouri Amendment 1, which would amend the Missouri Constitution to allow the state treasurer to invest in highly rated municipal securities and lets the Legislature further expand investment options for the treasurer, did NOT pass, with the no votes hitting 54.3%.
Missouri Amendment 3, which would the Missouri Constitution to legalize marijuana use by adults age 21 and older, and sets a 6% sales tax on marijuana sales. Expunges arrest and conviction records of non-violent marijuana offenses, except for driving under the influence and sales to minors, DID pass, with the yes votes hitting 53.1%.
Missouri Amendment 4, which would amend the Missouri Constitution to allow the Legislature to increase the mandatory minimum funding level for the Kansas City Police Department, DID pass, with the yes votes hitting 63.2%.
Missouri Amendment 5, which would amend the Missouri Constitution to create the Missouri Department of the National Guard, which would elevate the National Guard to a Cabinet-level state entity instead of a division of the Department of Public Safety, DID pass, with the yes votes hitting 60.2%
Finally, the Missouri Constitutional Convention Question did NOT pass, with the no votes hitting 67.7%.
Lastly, it looks like Republicans will maintain control over the State Senate and State House, however, the final margin is yet to be determined.
Now let's move into the races we were watching and what the results were.
Jack
The first race that I was watching on election night was Missouri’s Senate race. Republican nominee Eric Schmitt has won the race, beating Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine by about 13.4 points according to the New York Times. Schmitt said in his victory speech, “I’ve seen what it could offer to a kid from Bridgeton. There’s a hell of a lot of sense here in flyover country. And I can promise you one thing — we’re going to shake things up in Washington”. Interestingly Donald Trump won Missouri by 15.4 points in 2020 according to the New York Times meaning that Schmitt underperformed Trump by about two points. Busch Valentine appears to have made up some ground, compared to 2020, in the rural areas in the middle of the state (see images below from New York Times).
The other race that I was watching last night was in Missouri’s Fourth Congressional District. Former TV anchor Mark Alford won that race, beating his opponent Jack Truman by 45 points. Alford will be the new Representative for the district, replacing Vicky Hartzler who retired to run for Senate. The New York Times suggests that Alford overperformed in many of the counties in the district when compared to 2020, even though the district did change due to redistricting (see images from New York Times below). Alford spoke with KMOU reporter Leah Vredenbregt after it was projected he would win. The video with his comments is below.
Megan
Yesterday, I was watching Missouri's Second Congressional District Race between Trish Gunby and Ann Wagner. Wagner did win this race, receiving 54.9% of the votes. Wagner has held this seat since the 2012 election, so it’s no surprise that the incumbent has won again. In the past two election cycles, Wagner faced much tighter races. Unfortunately for Gunby, this race was not very close. A very likely contributing factor to this is that this district was redrawn to include heavily GOP areas like Warren and Franklin counties. It also includes portions of St. Louis and St. Charles counties, which are known to go red. Wagner has said that, “We’re going to do whatever we can to represent the people”. She also Tweeted out this morning, “This district is home to me, & there is no better feeling than representing our conservative, Midwest values in Congress" (see her Tweet below).
The second race I was keeping an eye on was the Missouri State Senate District 18, where Republican Cindy O'Laughlin beat Democrat candidate Ayanna Shivers. O’Laughlin has held her seat since 2019 and with how Northeast Missouri voted yesterday, it’s likely she’ll keep it for as long as she wants to. O’Laughlin had a whopping 75.8% of votes out of 56,625 voters. Shivers did not win in a single county.
Zoie
The first race that I was watching on election night was Missouri’s 7th Congressional District between Eric Burlison and Kristen Radaker Sheafer. Burlison, the Republican nominee, has won the race with 70.9% of the votes. Every country in this district elected Burlison with a margin of at least 22 points. Burlison will be the new representative for the district, replacing Billy Long who ran in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate. In his victory speech, Burlison addresses President Joe Biden saying “we’re coming…. We’re going to take the reigns from someone who is clearly not leading and we’re going to show what leadership is really like.” It is no surprise that Burlison won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives because Southwest Missouri has increasingly identified as Republican since 1988 and has continuously elected conservative representatives since 1961. The enactment of new congressional district boundaries in 2022 did not change the partisan makeup of this district; therefore, a Republican win was expected.
The second race that I was watching was for Missouri State Senate District 34, where Republican nominee and incumbent, Tony Luetkemeyer, beat Democratic nominee, Sarah Shorter. Luetkemeyer has won 59.1% of the votes so far and is leading the polls in both Platte and Buchanan counties. While many mainstream media outlets have not called this race yet, Luetkemeyer’s lead is clear and he has already announced his victory on Twitter. It is unsurprising that Luetkemeyer retained his state senate seat because he has capitalized on his incumbency by stating that he has “had the benefit of being in the district for the last four years” and talking to his constituents. The historically conservative voting patterns of this district, in combination with Luetkemeyer’s incumbency, made this a relatively predictable race.
Thank you for reading Show Mo Facts! Be sure to follow us on Twitter as well as like and comment on this post. If you’d like to check out another blog from our class, we recommend Gateway To Facts. They are fact-checking the MO DNC. Find them here!
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