ELECTION UPDATES: Democrats win big in Boone County
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Democrats won big in Boone County on Tuesday.
Two Democrats easily won contested state House races -- Adrian Plank in the 47th House District and Douglas Mann in the 50th District. Democrat Kip Kendrick easily won election to a vacant presiding commissioner seat, with nearly 35,000 votes to Republican Connie Leipard's 27,000.
Democrat Bob Nolte won the recorder race, Democrat Kyle Reiman took the auditor seat and Democrat Jenna Redel easily beat incumbent Republican Treasurer Dustin Stanton.
Republican incumbent Cheri Toalson Reisch won reelection in the 44th House District.
The county's voters also picked Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine for U.S. Senate even though she lost the statewide race. The county supported legalizing recreational marijuana with nearly 39,000 "yes" votes to 24,000 "no" votes.
Boone County ended up with about 49% turnout, just below the range County Clerk Brianna Lennon predicted.
Alford wins Fourth District; Cole County tops 50% turnout in midterm election
Republican Mark Alford has won the Fourth Congressional District.
The Associated Press called the race for Alford late Tuesday with 92% of precincts reporting. Alford had 72% of the vote to 25% for Democrat Jack Truman. The Fourth District takes in much of western Missouri and includes the northern half of Columbia and Boone County.
The seat was vacated by Republican incumbent Vicky Hartzler, who failed in her bid for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate.
The AP also declared Sixth Congressional District Republican incumbent Sam Graves the winner in his race and Third Congressional District Republican incumbent Blaine Luetkemeyer won reelection.
More than 50% of registered voters in Boone County cast ballots in the midterm election.
Cole County Clerk Steve Korsmeyer reported turnout of a little more than 53% after all the ballots were counted Tuesday night. Republicans did well in the county, as expected.
Republican Presiding Commissioner Sam Bushman easily won reelection over independent challenger Carla Steck and incumbent Republican state Rep. Dave Griffith easily won reelection in the 60th House District.
Cole County voters went overwhelmingly for Republican Attorney General Eric Schmitt in the U.S. Senate race. The county also went against Amendment 3, which would legalize recreational marijuana.
Democrats lead with more than half of Boone County precincts reporting
Boone County has now reported votes from more than half of its 79 precincts.
Democrat Kip Kendrick held a large lead in the presiding commissioner race with 39 precincts reporting, with nearly 20,000 votes to Republican Connie Leipard's 15,000. However, about half of the county's precincts are yet to report.
Democratic challenger Jenna Redel was leading in the race for Boone County treasurer over incumbent Republican Dustin Stanton with about 18000 votes to Stanton's 16,000. Stanton was appointed by Republican Gov. Mike Parson and is seeking election for the first time.
In three closely watched Boone County state House races, Republican incumbent Rep. Cheri Toalson Reisch was leading in the 44th District; Democrat Adrian Plank was leading in the 47th District; and Democrat Douglas Mann was leading in the 50th District.
Boone County voters had also gone overwhelmingly in favor of Amendment 3, which will legalize recreational marijuana.
Schmitt defeats Busch Valentine in Missouri U.S. Senate race
Republican Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has won election to the U.S. Senate, The Associated Press reported. He defeated Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine and kept what’s considered a safe Republican seat in GOP hands as the party fought for control of the Senate.
Schmitt will take the seat occupied for the past 12 years by Republican Roy Blunt, who announced in March 2021 he would not seek a third term — ending a half-century career in politics.
Missouri was once a swing state but has moved decidedly to the right over the past decade. Valentine had plenty of money to spend — she’s the daughter of the late longtime Anheuser-Busch chairman, August Busch Jr. But she lacked name recognition and her campaign never gained momentum.
Gov. Mike Parson congratulated his fellow Republican Schmitt and Republican state auditor candidate Scott Fitzpatrick, who also enjoyed a large lead in his race.
Congratulations to Missouri’s next U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt and State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick on their well-earned election victories.
— Governor Mike Parson (@GovParsonMO) November 9, 2022
Griffith, Bushman win reelection in Cole County
Incumbents Dave Griffith and Sam Bushman are set to win reelection with about two-thirds of the vote counted in Cole County.
Griffith, a Republican state representative in the 60th House District, which covers most of Jefferson City, enjoyed a 63%-38% lead with about 86% of the vote tallied. Bushman, the county's Republican presiding commissioner, had a 73%-27% lead over independent Carla Steck with about 69% of votes in.
Cole County voters are also choosing Republican Attorney General Eric Schmitt to win the U.S. Senate race and voting against the amendment to legalize recreational marijuana, with 55% of votes coming in against the measure.
Kansas, North and South Dakota go to Republicans in Senate races
Kansas, North Dakota, South Dakota and Arkansas have gone to Republicans in the U.S. Senate races, according to the Associated Press. Those states were won individually by Jerry Moran, John Hoeven, John Thune and John Boozman, respectfully.
Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer retains his senate seat in New York.
Sen. Raphael Warnock maintains a narrow lead over Herschel Walker with 54.4% of the vote in, according to the Associated Press. Warnock stays ahead by roughly 100,000 votes.
Cole County releases absentee vote tally
The absentee ballots in Cole County have been counted.
In the race for U.S. Senate, Republican Attorney General Eric Schmitt edged out Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine in the early votes. U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer also easily led in the absentee voting.
State Rep. Dave Griffith led the absentee vote in the 60th House District 57% to 43%.
Presiding Commissioner Sam Bushman had 69% of the absentee vote against Carla Steck's 31%.
Cole County absentee voters voted down legalizing recreational marijuana, with 1,704 "no" votes to 1,344 "yes" votes.
Senate race results begin coming in; Republicans make gains in southeastern states, Democrats take handful of northeastern states and Illinois
Republican senators are set to take seats in Oklahoma, Indiana, Kentucky, Alabama and South Carolina while Democrats are cruising to wins in Maryland, Vermont, Illinois and Connecticut, according to The Associated Press. Sen. Marco Rubio is also likely to win in Florida.
Republican Florida Gov. Ron Desantis is expected to gain another term as governor.
Sen. Raphael Warnock currently leads Herschel Walker in the Georgia senate race with just more than 32% of the vote in.
Polls closed in Missouri at 7 p.m. up-to-date results will be coming in shortly.
Boone County Clerk reports 47% turnout; online stream starts at 7 p.m.
The Boone County Clerk's Office said voter turnout hit 47% as of 6 p.m.
The figure includes both in-person voting, which accounts for about 40% of registered voters, plus absentee voting. The county has about 128,000 registered voters, both active and inactive.
County Clerk Brianna Lennon said she expects turnout to reach between 50% and 60%. Polls close at 7 p.m.
ABC 17 News to stream live from 7 to 9 p.m.
ABC 17 News will have election coverage throughout the night.
After on-air shows end at 7 p.m., ABC 17 News will go live online until 9 p.m., when the late news begins. A live video player will be added to this story when the stream begins.
Boone County clerk reports 40% turnout
The Boone County Clerk's Office says about 40% of registered Boone County voters had cast ballots by 4:26 p.m.
The turnout number includes about 33% in-person voting, with the rest made up by absentee ballots. County Clerk Brianna Lennon said Tuesday afternoon that she expects turnout to land between 50% and 60% by the time polls close at 7 p.m. About 14,000 voters had already cast ballots by 9 a.m. Tuesday.
As of approx 4:30pm, Boone County is at 33% in person voting turnout. 🗳 In person turnout+absentee voting = 40% 🗳 https://t.co/Gbw55ZStWr
— Boone County Clerk (@voteboonemo) November 8, 2022
Lennon said the county has about 128,000 registered voters, both active and inactive.
The predicted turnout would be well below the 70% who voted in 2018.
As of 1pm, Boone County is at 23% in person voting turnout. 🗳 In person turnout+absentee voting = 30% 🗳 https://t.co/p6RlpUmjXZ
— Boone County Clerk (@voteboonemo) November 8, 2022
Lennon has also warned that the county could be slower than in the past. Missouri now requires voters to show photo identification such as a driver's license. Those who don't can cast provisional ballots, which must then be verified.
Several big races and issues are driving turnout statewide and locally. Missouri voters are choosing a new senator and deciding questions including whether to legalize recreational marijuana. Some local races are also contested, such as the race to be the next Boone County presiding commissioner.
Look for results to be posted at this link after polls close at 7 p.m.
Cole County clerk monitors DOJ voting monitors
Cole County Clerk Steve Korsmeyer said during his trip around the county Tuesday morning that he saw members of the Department of Justice standing in a parking lot observing.
He said they were keeping their distance, not asking any questions.
A meeting was held Monday to discuss the DOJ's request to monitor Cole County polling locations. In the meeting, the DOJ did not provide the nature of the complaints, according to a news release from the Missouri Secretary of State's Office. And the DOJ said it will not reveal in the future why it chose to investigate Cole County or the nature of the complaints.
Despite pushback from Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, the DOJ was out monitoring polling locations from outside Tuesday. Korsmeyer said voter turnout was good.
Cole County voters are picking a state senator, House member and a presiding commissioner in Tuesday's election, in addition to statewide votes.
Tracking the vote interactively
People around the country are watching to see whether the election will swing the balance of power in the House and Senate, where Democrats currently hold a narrow edge.
Most observers believe the Democrats could hold the Senate but the House is likely going to flip to Republicans.
ABC 17 News has created several interactive vote trackers using Associated Press and FiveThirtyEight tools.
Our pages track the national balance of power; Missouri votes in the U.S. Senate and House races and on statewide ballot issues; and votes for state House and Senate members.
Click on the links to access the pages.
