Statewide offices to have new look; Congress, maybe not

Voter Alice Davis leaves the polls after casting her ballot in Florissant, Mo., during Missouri's state primary election Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016. (Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

Missouri's roster of statewide elected officials will have a whole new look after November, but there's a chance the congressional delegation will be completely unchanged.

Voters on Tuesday nominated candidates for five statewide offices, all of which are being vacated by incumbents. Only state Auditor Nicole Galloway, a Democrat, will remain unchanged. She was appointed by Gov. Jay Nixon on April 14, 2015, following the death of Tom Schweich, and doesn't face election until 2018.

Otherwise, the state will have a new governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state and treasurer.

Congressional races are a different story. All eight members of the U.S. House delegation from Missouri easily won nomination Tuesday, as did incumbent Republican Sen. Roy Blunt. Missouri's other U.S. senator, Claire McCaskill, is not up for re-election.

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SENATE

Blunt and Democratic Secretary of State Jason Kander easily won their parties' nomination in the Senate race. Both men defeated little-known challengers.

It wasn't unexpected. In fact, both have been essentially campaigning against each other for months. They've raised millions of dollars for what is expected to be a bruising general election campaign.

Democrats see Missouri as vulnerable, and Republicans are taking the challenge seriously. Former President George W. Bush is among those who have helped raise money for Blunt.

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THE HOUSE

The most spirited challenge was in the 1st District. William Lacy Clay defeated state Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal and St. Louis school board member Bill Haas to win the Democratic primary.

Clay was first elected in 2000, when his father retired after 32 years in office.

He has been challenged before. In 2012, due to redistricting, Clay was forced to run against another incumbent Democrat, Russ Carnahan, and defeated him soundly.

Other House incumbents winning nominations Tuesday included one Democrat - Emanuel Cleaver of Kansas City in the 5th District - and six Republicans: Ann Wagner in the 2nd District (suburban St. Louis); Blaine Luetkemeyer in the 3rd District (St. Louis' western suburbs to mid-Missouri); Vicky Hartzler in the 4th District (western Missouri); Sam Graves in the 6th District (northern tier of the state); Billy Long in the 7th District, (southwest Missouri); and Jason Smith in the 8th District (south-central and southeastern Missouri).

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ATTORNEY GENERAL

University of Missouri law professor Josh Hawley defeated state Sen. Kurt Schaefer for the Republican nomination for attorney general, a post being vacated by two-term office holder Chris Koster, a Democrat who is running for governor.

On the Democratic side, Cass County prosecutor Teresa Hensley topped St. Louis County assessor Jake Zimmerman in one of the closest statewide elections Tuesday.

The stakes are high: Many attorneys general have gone on to become governor, including the two-term incumbent Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat.

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SECRETARY OF STATE

A familiar name will be on the November ballot in the race for Missouri secretary of state.

Jay Ashcroft, son of former Missouri governor, U.S. senator and U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, defeated state Sen. Will Kraus and Kansas City educator Roi Chinn for the GOP nomination.

On the Democratic side, Robin Smith, a former TV news anchor in St. Louis and political novice, outdistanced two Kansas City residents.

Ashcroft hopes to be just the third Republican elected to the position of secretary of state since 1945. The other two were both named Blunt: Roy Blunt, now a U.S. senator, served from 1985 to 1993; his son Matt was elected for one term in 2000 before winning election as governor.

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LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR

Another candidate with a long family history in Missouri politics won nomination in the race for lieutenant governor.

Russ Carnahan of St. Louis defeated two Democratic opponents.

On the Republican side, state Sen. Mike Parson, who is also a former sheriff, beat two challengers.

Carnahan served four terms in the House before redistricting in 2012 forced him to run against Clay.

His father, Mel Carnahan, was a two-term governor of Missouri who won election to the U.S. Senate in November 2000 despite dying in a plane crash weeks before the election, along with another son and a political aide. Mel Carnahan's wife, Jean Carnahan was appointed to fill her husband's Senate seat.

Also, Russ Carnahan's sister, Robin Carnahan, was twice elected secretary of state, in 2004 and 2008, and lost to Republican Roy Blunt in a 2010 U.S. Senate bid.

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TREASURER

Former state Rep. Judy Baker won the Democratic nomination for state treasurer, the office that serves as custodian for state funds and is responsible for holding unclaimed property.

Baker, of Columbia, served two terms in the Missouri House before losing to Luetkemeyer in a 2008 race for Congress. She then worked in President Barack Obama's administration as a regional director of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Republican state Sen. Eric Schmitt and Libertarian Sean O'Toole were unopposed. Democrat incumbent Clint Zweifel is barred by state term limits from running.

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FERGUSON BALLOT ISSUE

For the second time in four months, voters in Ferguson approved a tax increase to help the St. Louis suburb rebound from the financial hit it took following the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown.

Voters OK'd a 2 percent hike in the business license utility tax, creating an additional $700,000 annually. City Manager De'Carlon Seewood said the money will allow the hiring of five police officers, avoid firefighter layoffs and keep a firehouse open.

In April, Ferguson voters approved a sales tax increase and narrowly defeated a property tax increase.

Brown, who was black and unarmed, was fatally shot by white officer Darren Wilson in 2014. Wilson was cleared of wrongdoing, but unrest cost the city millions of dollars in legal fees, overtime, and other expenses.

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ADDITIONAL COVERAGE

Cole County primary stories:

Two races key Cole County voters' interest

Wheeler wins Cole County sheriff's race

Kuensting wins GOP public administrator nomination

Scheperle wins GOP bid for Cole County commissioner

Estes retains Cole County assessor job

Jefferson City sales tax sails to a win

Cole County voter turnout tops 35 percent

Mid-Missouri primary results:

Boone County primary final results