ELECTION UPDATE: Winners selected in Boone County state House seats

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

LINK: Get full results for state and local races

The residents of two Boone County legislative districts now know who will represent them.

Republican John Martin won the primary over Bryce Beal in the 44th District, which is being vacated by Republican Rep. Cheri Toalson Reisch (R-Hallsville). Martin had previously run for the 47th District seat but lost to Democrat Adrian Plank.

In the 50th House District, Gregg Bush prevailed over Jeff Basinger in the Democratic primary. Bush, a nurse who ran on health care and union support, won the endorsement of incumbent Doug Mann, who stepped down because of mental health issues.

Columbia sales tax passes; Carey wins reelection

Columbia city leaders can count on another 10 years of a quarter-cent sales tax funding improvements to roads, sidewalks and other infrastructure after the measure easily passed Tuesday.

The Capital Improvement Sales Tax passed with more 12,000 "yes" votes compared to fewer than 5,000 "no" votes. The money raised from the tax will help fund $7.3 million in Clark Lane improvements, $9.8 million for St. Charles Road and $12 million for Sinclair Road.

Sheriff Dwayne Carey fended off a challenge from Charles Blair to win his sixth term as the Democratic sheriff of Boone County. Carey had about 9,000 votes to Blair's approximately 2,000.

Darryl Maylee retains Callaway County sheriff’s seat with primary win

Darryl Maylee, who was first named acting Callaway County sheriff months, won his election bid in the Republican Primary on Tuesday.

Maylee – who took on the duties of Callaway County sheriff after Clay Chism lost his peace officer’s license – won Tuesday’s primary election with a resounding 77.54% of the vote over Victor Pitman. He will run unopposed in November.

In other Callaway races, incumbent Assessor Jody Paschal won the Republican nomination over Tony Estrada with 61.2% of the vote. In the Western District Commissioner race, Christopher Scott edged out Larry Robinson and Jennifer DeLashmett with 45.48% of the vote.

Curt Warfield Jr. earned the Eastern District Commissioner nomination with 29.67% of the vote (997 votes), narrowly finishing ahead of Suzanna Wolfe (880 votes), Kirt Kleindienst (821 votes) and Kenny Albert (662).

In the treasurer race, Debbie Zerr finished ahead of Sandy Martin with a decisive 61.08% of the vote.

All of those positions will run unopposed in November.

Andy Boggs unseats Aaron Wilson in Randolph County Sheriff race

Randolph County will have a new sheriff.

Andy Boggs earned 61.23% of the vote in the Republican primary with 2,596 votes, while incumbent sheriff Aaron Wilson had 20.57% with 872 votes and Chris Wertz had 16.6% with 704 votes.

All local races in Randolph County were on the Republican ballot. In the Eastern District Commissioner race, Jason Lowry Jr. beat John Tracy by fewer than 90 votes with a 1,086-999 edge. Austin Kyser earned the nod in the Western District Commissioner race with 763 votes, while Teresa Hunt had 697 and John Hobbs had 425.

Boggs said he started off his career at the sheriff’s office and would like to end his career there. He believes his performance in today’s election – sweeping every precinct --  indicated Randolph County voters wanted to go in a new direction.

“The people spoke and they are ready for a change. I’m ready to get to work,” Boggs said.

Will Scharf concedes AG Republican primary to Andrew Bailey

Will Scharf conceded the Attorney General Republican primary to Andrew Bailey. Scharf made his concession speech around 8:20 p.m.

Bailey will face Elad Gross in the November election. Gross ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.

‘Yes’ votes for Columbia Capital Improvement Tax take early lead from absentee voting

More than 4,100 people casted absentee ballots in Boone County for Tuesday’s primary election.

There were 4,117 absentee votes cast, with 2,232 were for Democrats and 1,717 were Republicans. There were 150 nonpartisan votes cast and another 18 were for the Libertarian Party.

Columbia’s Proposition 1, which asks voters to extend a one-quarter-of-one-percent Capital Improvement Sales Tax, appears to be favorable to voters with early results. There were 2,129 absentee voters who supported to extend the tax, while 699 were against it.

Valerie Carroll, who is running unopposed in Columbia’s First Ward race, received 157 votes, against two write-in votes.

Incumbent Sheriff Dwayne Carey jumped out to an early lead in the Democratic Primary against Charles Blair 1,764-316. For the Democratic state representative seat for District 50, Gregg Bush had a narrow lead over Jeff Basinger from absentee voting 247-216.

Nearly 1,800 vote absentee in Cole County

Nearly 1,800 people voted absentee in Cole County, according to initial voting results.

The Cole County Clerk’s Office showed 1,795 people casted an absentee ballot for Tuesday’s election. Of that number, 1,443 were Republican voters, 348 were Democrats, three people chose the nonpartisan ballot and one person voted for the Libertarian party.

Cole County reports strong turnout for primary election at 4:45 p.m.

Voter turnout in Cole County was far outpacing that in Boone County late Tuesday afternoon.

Cole County Elections Director Matt Musselman reported about 28% turnout at 4:45 p.m. The Boone County Clerk's Office reported on social media platform X that the county had reached 17.8% turnout among its approximately 127,000 voters as of 4 p.m.

Turnout in August 2022 was about 23%.

The primary ballot includes the renewal of the capital improvement sales tax in Columbia and well as intraparty races for state and county offices.

Polls close at 7 p.m.

Turnout in Boone County nears 13 percent at 1 p.m.

Turnout in Boone County had reached 12.7% by 1 p.m. Tuesday, according to the Boone County Clerk's Office.

The office periodically reports turnout numbers via social media on Election Day. Turnout was at 7.8% at 10 a.m., just four hours after polls opened, with about 7,000 ballots cast.

County Clerk Brianna Lennon had predicted turnout at about 20-25%, in line with the approximately 23% turnout for the 2022 August primary. Boone County has about 127,000 voters registered for this election, Lennon said Tuesday.

As of 1pm, we’re up to 12.7% 🗳️ https://t.co/e9HgJKXnm0

— Boone County Clerk (@voteboonemo) August 6, 2024

Polls close at 7 p.m.

The August primary includes many key races that will likely be decided in this election, as only one party has fielded candidates in some races. Voters in Callaway County will know the identity of their next sheriff after votes are counted Tuesday, for example.

Cole County voters will also be choosing an assessor as Chris Estes, who has clashed with the county commission on numerous occasions, faces a well-funded challenge Timothy Theroff.

Check back here for Election Day updates.