Missouri
The short version: Who won, what passed Nov. 5 in Missouri general election
Missouri voters have been casting ballots for more than a week, and many of the election results were known by late Tuesday. But not all.
Here is an overview of everything on the ballot in Springfield as well as the top leaders elected in Missouri and across the U.S.
Early Wednesday morning, former president Donald Trump appeared headed to the White House. Missouri was solidly red, supporting the Republican ticket Trump and running mate JD Vance. Trump was leading Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democratic ticket in projected Electoral College votes, though results were still being counted in a number of battleground states either candidate would need to win.
Republican incumbent Josh Hawley secured a second term in the seat he took from Democrat Claire McCaskill in 2018. His chief challenger was Democrat Lucas Kunce, a former Marine and military lawyer who raised significant money in his long-running bid for the seat.
Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe will be Missouri’s 58th governor.
Kehoe, a Jefferson City Republican endorsed by Parson, defeated state Rep. Crystal Quade, a Springfield Democrat who serves as minority leader in the Missouri House, in what was a comparatively frugal campaign.
With Kehoe running for governor, the race for lieutenant governor was open. Republican Dave Wasinger, a St. Louis attorney emerged the winner in a crowded GOP primary and won the position, which serves as the next in line to the governor and breaks tie votes in the state Senate.
State Sen. Denny Hoskins, the Republican candidate, declared victory late Tuesday, succeeding outgoing Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, who lost a bid for governor in the Republican primary.
Incumbent Vivek Malek, a Republican appointed by the governor in 2022, secured a full term as the state’s chief financial officer, responsible for managing annual state revenues, directing bank services and overseeing the state’s investment portfolio.
Incumbent Andrew Bailey, a Republican, was appointed the Missouri Attorney General by Gov. Mike Parson, taking office in January 2023 after Eric Schmitt was elected to represent Missouri in the U.S. Senate. He won his first election Tuesday.
In southwest Missouri, first-term Republican Rep. Eric Burlison retained the 7th District seat he won two years ago after U.S. Rep. Billy Long vacated the seat to run for Senate.
Missouri legislative races
All seats in the Missouri House of Representatives were up for a vote in the election, along with one of the state Senate seats in the Springfield area. Winners in Springfield-area districts include:
Senate District 29
- Mike Moon – Republican – winner
House District 129
- John Black – Republican – winner
House District 130 – Incumbent Republican Bishop Davidson was ahead in early totals but many votes remained uncounted late Tuesday due to delayed results in Greene County.
- Bishop Davidson – Republican
- Leslie Jones – Democratic
House District 131 – Incumbent Republican Bill Owen was ahead in early totals but many votes remained uncounted late Tuesday due to delayed results in Greene County.
- Bill Owen – Republican
- Ashley Cossins – Democratic
House District 132 – Democratic candidate Jeremy Dean was ahead in early totals but many votes remained uncounted late Tuesday due to delayed results in Greene County.
- Jeremy Dean – Democratic
- Stephanos Freeman – Republican
House District 133 – Incumbent Republican Melanie Stinnett was ahead in early totals but many votes remained uncounted late Tuesday due to delayed results in Greene County.
- Melanie Stinnett – Republican
- Derrick Nowlin – Democratic
House District 134
- Alex Riley – Republican – winner
House District 135 – Incumbent Democrat Betsy Fogle was ahead in early totals but many votes remained uncounted late Tuesday due to delayed results in Greene County.
- Betsy Fogle – Democratic
- Michael Hasty – Republican
House District 136 – Incumbent Democrat Stephanie Hein was ahead in early totals but many votes remained uncounted late Tuesday due to delayed results in Greene County.
- Stephanie Hein – Democratic
- Jim Robinette – Republican
House District 137
- Darin Chappell – Republican – winner
House District 138
- Burt Whaley – Republican – winner
House District 139
- Bob Titus – Republican – winner
House District 140
- Jamie Ray Gragg – Republican – winner
There’s was only one contested race for Greene County office, for the District 2 seat on the county commission. With half of the country’s precincts reported, incumbent John Russell, a Republican, was leading Democratic candidate Tim McGrady by a margin of more than 10 percentage points.
Other county races, all featuring Republican incumbents running unopposed, included:
Greene County Sheriff – Jim C Arnott – winner
Greene County Assessor – Brent Johnson – winner
Greene County Treasurer – Justin R. Hill – winner
Greene County Public Administrator – Sherri Eagon Martin – winner
Final results were not available by late Tuesday night but all the judges up for retention votes on Springfield-area ballots were poised to remain in office. They included:
- Judge Kelly C. Broniec of the Missouri Supreme Court
- Judge Ginger K. Gooch of the Missouri Supreme Court
- Judge Becky J.W. Borthwick of the Court of Appeals – Southern District
- Judge Jennifer R. Growcock of the Court of Appeals – Southern District
- Judge Derek A. Ankrom of the Circuit Judge – Circuit 31 – Div 1
- Judge Kaiti Greenwade of the Circuit Judge – Circuit 31 – Div 2
- Judge Dan Wichmer of the Circuit Judge – Circuit 31 – Div 3
- Judge T. Todd Myers of the Circuit Judge – Circuit 31 – Div 4
- Judge Jerry A. Harmison, Jr. of the Circuit Judge – Circuit 31 – Div 5
- Judge Joshua B. Christensen of the Circuit Judge – Circuit 31 – Div 6
- Judge Andy Hosmer of the Associate Circuit Judge – Circuit 31 – Div 23
- Judge Kirsten Poppen of the Associate Circuit Judge – Circuit 31 – Div 24
- Judge Josephine (Jody) L. Stockard of the Associate Circuit Judge – Circuit 31 – Div 25
- Judge Ron Carrier of the Associate Circuit Judge – Circuit 31 – Div 26
A question asking Springfield voters to replace the city’s expiring 3/4-cent sales tax — which since 2009 has funded the shortfall in the city’s police and fire pension fund — with a new combination of taxes of equal amount appeared to be approved late Tuesday. With 46 of 56 precincts reporting, votes in favor were well ahead, with the tax garnering more than 62% of the vote.
Amendment 2, which would legalize sports betting in Missouri, was slightly ahead in the vote tally but results were not final late Tuesday.
Amendment 3, enshrining abortion-rights protections in the state’s constitution, was approved Tuesday.
Amendment 5, which would amend the state constitution and expand riverboat gambling in Missouri to allow a casino on the Osage River, had not been called late Tuesday but was trending toward defeat in late results.
This amendment, which would have allowed the state to levy court fees to support salaries and benefits for current and former sheriffs, prosecuting attorneys and circuit attorneys, was trending toward defeat Tuesday.
Amendment 7, placed on the Nov. 5 ballots by the Missouri legislature, alters the state constitution to effectively ban ranked-choice voting in the state, as well as stipulating that only U.S. citizens can vote. It passed decisively Tuesday.
Proposition A was approved Tuesday, increasing the minimum wage in Missouri — which currently stands at $12.30 an hour — and requiring employers to provide paid sick leave. It calls for Missouri’s minimum wage to increase to $13.75 an hour on Jan. 1, 2025, then to $15 an hour in 2026, with adjustments each year after that based on the Consumer Price Index. Employers would be required to provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked.