Redrawn state House, Senate districts in play this November
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Missouri Senate district that includes Callaway County now spreads out to the Illinois border north of St Louis.
And District 6, which includes Cole County, now dives south to include Camden County.
The new borders have changed the political calculation in some districts, with Democrats hopeful they can win seats in districts Republicans currently hold. Two of those are the 47th House District and the 50th House District, which have each become seemingly more competitive under the new map.
Here are some of the contested General Assembly races locals will see on their ballots this November.
10th Senate District
Travis Fitzwater: April quarterly campaign finance report; July quarterly report; October quarterly report
Catherine Dreher: July quarterly campaign finance report; October quarterly report
No incumbent is running in the 10th District but a Republican House member is hoping to inherit the district from Jeanie Riddle.
Travis Fitzwater, who currently represents parts of Callaway and Cole counties, is term-limited out of the House. The Callaway County-based Fitzwater won the Republican primary and boasts his conservative policy positions on his website -- anti-abortion, pro-Second Amendment and pro-agriculture -- especially his co-sponsoring of a major tax cut.
Fitzwater is running against Libertarian Catherine Dreher. No Democrat filed for election in the 10th District.
The redrawn district touches the outer boundaries of the St. Louis area including Wentzville.
18th Senate District
Cindy O'Laughlin: Amended April quarterly campaign finance report; July quarterly report; October quarterly report
Ayanna Shivers: April quarterly campaign finance report; July quarterly report; October quarterly report
The 18th Senate District covers basically the northeast corner of the state. It stretches from Audrain and Randolph counties in the south to the Illinois and Iowa borders and runs as far west as Putnam County.
The incumbent, Republican Cindy O'Laughlin, is seeking her second term in the state Senate. She is based in Shelbina. O'Laughlin is a small business owner who says on her website that the state needs "entitlement reform" to "encourage people to return to the workforce."
Her Democratic challenger is Mexico City Council member Ayanna Shivers. She works at Lincoln University, a historically Black university in Jefferson City.
Among Shivers' campaign planks are support for education and teachers, rural access to health care and economic support for rural businesses.
44th House District
Cheri Toalson Reisch: April quarterly campaign finance report; July quarterly report; October quarterly report
Dave Raithel: April quarterly campaign finance report; July quarterly report; October quarterly report
The 44th House District's shape has been tweaked to take in the southern portion of Boone County along with its northeastern quadrant.
The restructuring put two Republican House members -- Sara Walsh and Cheri Toalson Reisch -- living in the same district. Walsh is stepping down from her seat after the election while Reisch is seeking a fourth and final term in the House.
Democrat Dave Raithel is trying to unseat Reisch, saying on his campaign website that she serves a "political religious sect."
"Guns are not plowshares," Raithel says on his website. "Black Lives Matter. I believe in public non-sectarian schools and boards of health. Your intimate affairs, and your children's, are none of my business. I believe that no one owes anyone an explanation for the body which God, or Nature, has given them. I know the sick need healing; my neighbors don't cheat counting votes; losing is not a conspiracy."
47th House District
Adrian Plank: April quarterly campaign finance report; July quarterly report; October quarterly report
John Martin: Amended April quarterly campaign finance report; July quarterly report; October quarterly report
Democrat Adrian Plank is again mounting a bid to take the 47th House District (his third time doing so). However, this time the district lines might make the race more competitive.
Plank is taking on Republican John Martin in November in a district that is now made up of northwest Boone County and part of Columbia. And current state Rep. Chuck Basye (R-Rocheport) is term-limited.
The old 47th District included parts of Boone, Cooper, Howard and Randolph counties, with rural Republican votes helping Basye hold the seat for eight years. Plank, a union carpenter, continues to run on populist ideals, stressing the need for fair wages and benefits inspired by his low-income background.
Martin is a fiscal conservative running on his small business background, also as a contractor. He opposes abortion and calls support for law enforcement a priority. He has community connections through service in several Columbia organizations and touts himself as the organizer of 2020 and 2021 "Back the Blue, Back the Flag" rallies.
49th House District
Jim Schulte: April quarterly campaign finance report; July quarterly report; October quarterly report
Jessica Slisz: April quarterly campaign finance report; July quarterly report; October quarterly report
The 49th House District once covered sections of Cole and Callaway counties. But with new maps, the district now covers roughly the southern two-thirds of Callaway County and none of Cole.
The seat is also empty, with Rep. Travis Fitzwater moving on to seek a seat in the state Senate.
Into the vacuum have stepped Republican Jim Schulte of Holts Summit and Democrat Jessica Slisz of Fulton. Schulte easily won a three-way primary in August but Slisz was the only Democrat to seek the seat.
Schulte promises to continue representing the district with a fiscal and social conservative focus. His website says he's for low taxes, against abortion and for more parental involvement in schools.
Slisz is a lifelong Callaway County resident who graduated from Westminster College. She's running on increased access to health care in Callaway County, which recently lost a hospital, better education funding and abortion rights.
50th House District
James Musgraves: April quarterly campaign finance report; July quarterly report; October quarterly report
Douglas Mann: April amended quarterly campaign finance report; July amended quarterly report; October quarterly report
The 50th House District has changed a lot since the last election cycle.
The district that once included Ashland and southern Boone County now covers southern Columbia, turning what was a conservative district into an evenly matched one.
Democrat Douglas Mann -- a first-time candidate -- hopes that can help his party flip the district as part of a statewide effort to weaken the Republican supermajority in Jefferson City. Mann, a Columbia civil rights lawyer, includes in his platform access to health care and economic policies that benefit people with lower incomes.
Republican James Musgraves has sought a seat on the Boone County Commission but this will be his first run for a state House seat. He's running on a platform of fiscal conservatism, taking "woke" ideas out of public education, infrastructure investment and support for police.
60th House District
Dave Griffith: April quarterly campaign finance report; July quarterly report; October quarterly report
J. Don Salcedo: July quarterly campaign finance report; October quarterly report
The boundaries of the 60th District have changed little -- it still takes in most of Jefferson City.
The district is represented by Dave Griffith, a Republican who easily won the seat in 2018 and again in 2020. Griffith got to know people in Jefferson City well during 23 years working in several roles at KRCG. He is anti-abortion, against gun regulations and says he wants to maintain "traditional Midwest values."
J. Don Salcedo was the only Democrat to seek the 60th District seat this cycle. Salcedo says he wants to "undo the damage the Republican majority has inflicted on the State of Missouri." He says Missouri should increase education funding, create an economy "that works for all," expand health care access and peel back "voter suppression laws."
