Voters polled by the News Tribune throughout Tuesday said hotly contested GOP primaries for Cole County sheriff and Missouri governor were two of the races that captivated their interest.
Lifelong Jefferson City resident Jim Branstetter was voting to keep the status quo and said he's been satisfied with how the community is being run and doesn't want major changes. He's been voting regularly for the last 15 years and said he's been happy with community development and the operations of the various municipal departments.
Walking into the McClung polling location on Tuesday, he said the two candidates he intended to vote for were sheriff candidate Capt. John Wheeler and incumbent Chris Estes for Cole County assessor. He also supports the half-cent sales tax.
"(Estes) has done a pretty good job," Branstetter said. "He hasn't caused me any problems. I don't know about all the politicking going on. Wheeler, I voted for because he deserves this job."
Steve and Debbie Howard had the opposite view of Branstetter. They turned out for the election to bring in fresh people who have never held political office.
"We're trying to get rid of all these lame-os out of office and get new blood," Steve Howard said. "I'm throwing them all out and replacing them with new people. They've had years to accomplish what they've said they'll do, and they haven't done it. Why should we believe them now?"
Debbie Howard agreed. She didn't want to see career politicians elected for the races.
The gubernatorial race will have the most impact on the community, Steve Howard said, and it's his main reason for voting. He said he's been happy with the candidates who are running and felt like there are some who align with his views.
He was disappointed, however, with the predicted low voter turnout - Cole County Clerk Steve Korsmeyer anticipated 30 percent will vote in the primary.
"If people are dissatisfied, they should do something about it," he said. "They can't complain if they're not going to do anything about it. People died for this right."
First lady Georganne Nixon saw this election from a perspective she hasn't had in the past 30 years.
"It's the first time my husband hasn't been on the ballot in 30 years, so it's just interesting to see what goes on," she said after casting her ballot at the Miller Performing Arts Center.
"It's just sort of interesting to be on this side of it," she said. "We'll still be, I'm sure, really active, but there's a sense of handing off the baton in a way."
She said she "hopes that the climate can be such that good people can continue to try to do this."
Randall Barnes was also voting at the Miller Center on Tuesday - but not so much to help his son, state Rep. Jay Barnes, who didn't face opposition in the Republican primary.
Barnes said he was mostly interested in local races, such as the Cole County sheriff's GOP primary between Wheeler, Gary Hill and Randy Dampf. All three candidates are capable and qualified, he said, but there's an "out with the old, in with the new" consensus among many members of the public.
Wheeler and Hill are employees of the Sheriff's Department, while Dampf is a former police officer who works in the Cole County Prosecutor's Office.
Bob Quinn, who represented part of North St. Louis County in the state House almost 30 years ago, and since has lobbied lawmakers for several organizations, said too many candidates emphasize being an "outsider" instead of touting their government experiences.
"For me," Quinn said, after voting at St. Joseph Cathedral, "if I have to have surgery, I'd want somebody who'd done it before - I wouldn't want somebody who said, 'I've never done it before. I'm your guy!'"
But for Bob Adams, retired from both the military and the state Corrections Department, being an "outsider" is "what this country needs now (to) get rid of some of the political bureaucracy that's going on."
Thomas Collins said some of the advertising made it easier for him to decide how to vote.
"I don't really appreciate the 'fun and game' antics and the bickering and those kind of ads," he said after voting at Faith Lutheran Church. "I typically vote for the person who I think will be more suitable for the job and in this case who treats the job seriously."
He also came to vote against Jefferson City's half-cent capital improvements sales tax.
"At first, I was all for it," Collins said. "However, with money being - not really saying where it's going to go - I couldn't get on board with it.
"We've already had the tax for 30 years, and I don't see that much of an improvement."
After voting at St. Joseph Cathedral, Joan Love said: "The sales tax was important to me."
But the political advertising "made it much more difficult" to decide how to vote.
ADDITIONAL ELECTION COVERAGE
Cole County primary stories:
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
Callaway County primary final results
Cole County primary final results
Miller County primary final results
Moniteau County primary final results
Morgan County primary final results
Osage County primary final results
Other Missouri primary results:
Missouri statewide and Congressional primary results
Missouri state representative primary results
Missouri state senator primary results
Missouri primary stories: