Nixon Selects Election Date

JEFFERSON CITY (AP) — Gov. Jay Nixon says he will set a June 4 special election to choose a successor to Missouri congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson.Emerson, a Republican, was resigning Tuesday after more than 16 years representing southeast Missouri’s 8th Congressional District. She plans to take a job as president and CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.Emerson had hoped that a special election could be held in April.But Nixon said Tuesday that April did not allow enough time to comply with various state and federal laws setting the deadline for independent candidates to file for office and for absentee ballots to be available for military and overseas voters.Republican and Democratic party committees are to nominate candidates for the special election.