ELECTION NIGHT UPDATES: Missouri approves Medicaid expansion
Get complete election results for Mid-Missouri counties and statewide races by clicking here.
UPDATE 11:55 P.M.: Missouri has voted to expand Medicaid health care coverage.
Voters on Tuesday approved a constitutional amendment to expand the government health insurance program to thousands more low-income adults, The Associated Press reported. Missouri is the 38th state to approve Medicaid expansion under former President Barack Obama’s federal health care law.
Missouri Republicans have fought efforts to increase eligibility for the program for years. That pushed supporters to put it to a public vote. Missouri’s Medicaid program currently does not cover most adults without children, and its income eligibility threshold for parents is one of the lowest in the nation at about one-fifth of the poverty level.
UPDATE 10:45 P.M.: The November contest for Missouri's 48th House District is set.
The district includes parts of Howard, Cooper, Randolph, Saline and Pettis counties. Tim Taylor won the Republican nomination with an easy victory over Don Baragary. Taylor took 3,759 votes to Baragary's 1,861.
Taylor will face Democrat Bill Betteridge in November.
Republican Willard Haley will take over the 58th House District seat being vacated by David Wood. The seat represents Morgan and part of Moniteau counties. Willard defeated Timothy Faber in the GOP primary and no Democrats are seeking the seat.
In the 124th House District, Republican Lisa Thomas won a five-way race to take over the seat now held by Rocky Miller. The district covers parts of Miller and Camden counties.
Howard County chooses commissioner
Jeff Stockhorst will be the next Eastern District commissioner of Howard County.
Stockhorst won a three-way race in the Republican primary for the seat.
In the Western District, Republican Matthew Freese will take on Randy McMillan in November.
UPDATE 10:20 P.M.: Republican voters have picked a nominee to challenge incumbent Democratic Commissioner Janet Thompson.
Tristan Asbury will represent the GOP in November in the race for the Northern District seat on the Boone County Commission. Asbury won a four-way race, defeating Brenndan Riddles, Jim Musgraves and Sam Boyce. Asbury was also the top fundraiser in the GOP race.
In the Southern District, Republican incumbent Fred Parry will face Democrat Justin Aldred in November.
Boone County voters went heavily in favor of Amendment 2, which would expand Medicaid in Missouri. County voters cast 23,697 ballots in favor of the measure and 11,891 against it.
Boone County's voter turnout was 28.75 percent.
Rezabek to face Luetkemeyer in 3rd District
A little-known candidate has won the Democratic primary in Missouri's heavily-Republican 3rd District.
The Associated Press reported Megan Rezabek defeated Dennis Oglesby in Tuesday's primary election. She'll face six-term incumbent Republican Blaine Luetkemeyer in November. Luetkemeyer, 68, defeated four GOP challengers on Tuesday.
The 3rd District stretches from the far western and southern suburbs of St. Louis west to the Lake of the Ozarks region. Luetkemeyer was first elected in 2008 after previously serving in the Missouri House and as director of the Missouri Division of Tourism.
Luetkemeyer has been a supporter of President Donald Trump.
Rezabek's Facebook page says she is focused on human rights, workers’ rights and addressing climate change. Her campaign website says she is a mother of two who also has participated in marches for women's rights.
UPDATE 9:55 P.M.: Watch Democratic gubernatorial nominee Nicole Galloway's victory speech below.
UPDATE 9:50 P.M.: One incumbent Republican commissioner won and another lost in Cole County on Tuesday.
Incumbent Jeff Hoelscher won re-election to his Eastern District seat over former Jefferson City councilman Rick Mihalevich. In the other Republican commission race, incumbent Western District Commissioner Kris Scheperle went down to challenger Harry Otto. Scheperle earned 2,437 votes to Otto's 2,888. Gary Bemboom took 2,035 votes.
No Democrats are seeking either of those seats, making Hoelscher and Otto the presumptive winners in November.
Incumbent Republican Assessor Chris Estes will also keep his seat after winning a four-way primary in dominant fashion by taking 50 percent of the vote. No Democrat is seeking the seat.
Races were also contested for several judge seats. Incumbent Daniel Green defeated David Bandre for the Division 2 seat in the 19th Circuit. Cotton Walker won the Division 3 seat over former prosecutor Mark Richardson.
All are Republicans -- no Democrats sought those seats.
Brian Stumpe won the Republican race for Division 5 associate circuit judge. He will take on Democrat Scott Evans in November.
Cole County voters came out strongly against Amendment 2, which would expand Medicaid in Missouri, with 60 percent voting no.
UPDATE 9:30 P.M.: Watch Republican Gov. Mike Parson give his victory speech in the player below.
UPDATE 9:25 P.M.: One Republican commissioner in Cooper County has been defeated and the other has retained his seat.
Western District Commissioner David Booker succumbed to a challenge from within his own party Tuesday night, losing to Danny Larm 1,065-849.
Melkersman meanwhile fended off a challenge from Dawn Kuster, winning by a 776-647 vote.
No Democrats are seeking those seats, making Melkersman and Larm the presumptive next commissioners in Cooper County.
Paula Sims won the Republican nomination for public administrator. She will face Wendy Wooldridge in November.
UPDATE 8:45 P.M.: The Associated Press has called Missouri's gubernatorial primaries and the Republican primaries for Mid-Missouri's three U.S. House seats.
The AP called the Republican gubernatorial primary for incumbent Gov. Mike Parson and the Democratic primary for State Auditor Nicole Galloway, a former Boone County official.
Incumbent Republican U.S. Reps. Vicky Hartzler, Sam Graves and Blaine Luetkemeyer will also win their nominating contests, according to the AP.
Hartzler, 59, of Harrisonville, defeated Neal Gist in the GOP primary. She will face Democrat Lindsey Simmons in November.
Simmons, a Harvard-educated lawyer, was unopposed in the primary. She has worked for several Missouri Democrats, including former Sen. Claire McCaskill, former Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster and former Rep. Ike Skelton, Hartzler’s Democratic predecessor in the 4th District.
Hartzler has been a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump. She disclosed last month that her family’s businesses received nearly $480,000 from a federal program to help small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.
She serves on the House Armed Services Committee and the House Agriculture Committee.
The 4th District covers portions of central and western Missouri.
Graves, 56, of Tarkio, defeated Christopher Ryan in the primary election.
His 6th District covers the width of rural northern Missouri, from the Kansas border to the Illinois border.
Graves is a member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the House Committee on Armed Services. He has been a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump.
The district has moved very conservative in recent years and Graves will be heavily favored in November against the winner of the five-person Democratic primary.
Luetkemeyer, 68, of St. Elizabeth, represents a district that stretches from the far western and southern suburbs of St. Louis west to the Lake of the Ozarks region. He was first elected in 2008 after previously serving in the Missouri House and as director of the Missouri Division of Tourism.
Luetkemeyer has been a supporter of President Donald Trump. He will face the winner of the two-person Democratic Primary.
Dennis Oglesby of Warrenton has worked in the print and promotional products industry for 16 years. He has said he believes government should be run sensibly and provide for the welfare of its citizens.
Oglesby’s opponent is Megan Rezabek, who has campaigned little but whose Facebook page says she is focused on human rights, workers’ rights and addressing climate change.
UPDATE 8:30 P.M.: Clint Hoellering and Rick Messerli have won election to the Moniteau County Commission.
Hoellering was victorious Tuesday in the Republican race for First District commissioner. Messerli won a three-way race for Second District commissioner, defeating incumbent Greg Robinson and Wesley Kirchner.
No Democrats filed for the commission seats, meaning Hoellering and Messerli are the presumptive next commissioners.
In the county's other contested race, Marcy Oerly scored an overwhelming victory in the Republican race for Assessor. Oerly defeated Bill Figgins -- the current interim assessor -- 2,209-727.
UPDATE 8:20 P.M.: With 40 percent of the precincts reporting in Callaway County, the incumbent has a large lead in the race for Western District commissioner.
Roger Fischer was leading the Republican race for the seat over challenger Will Shackelford by a 400-270 margin with four of the county's 10 precincts reporting.
No Democrats are seeking the seat so Tuesday's winner will be the presumed next commissioner.
Callaway County's voters were also coming out in heavy favor of Amendment 2, which would expand Medicaid in Missouri to cover more working adults. With four precincts reporting, 1,404 yes votes had been cast compared to 1,198 no votes.
ORIGINAL: The polls have closed and Cole County is reporting its first election results.
The Cole County Clerk's Office reported 2,063 absentee ballots cast. Two of the big races on the county's ballot are the Republican races that will decide two county commission seats.
Incumbent Jeff Hoelscher had a lead over challenger Rick Mahalevich in the commission's Eastern District race. In the Republican contest for the Western District, challenger Harry Otto was ahead in a three-way race. Incumbent Kris Scheperle was in second place.
Cole County's absentee voters came out in heavy favor of Amendment 2, which would expand the state's Medicaid program to cover more working adults. Of the 2.003 absentee votes cast on the ballot measure, 1,271 were in favor.
