Democrat Mike Revis was elected Tuesday (Feb. 6) to represent the 97th District in the state House of Representatives, serving the remaining 11 months in a seat left vacant when John McCaherty resigned in September 2017.
Once Revis is sworn in, two of the nine legislators representing Jefferson County in the Capitol, will be Democrats. Currently, the county is represented by eight legislators – six representatives and two senators – in Jefferson City, all Republicans except for term-limited state Rep. Ben Harris of Hillsboro.
The 97th District covers parts of north and northwest Jefferson County as well as an area in south St. Louis County located between Hwy. 21 and I-55.
Revis’ win was a narrow one. He received 1,787 votes to Republican David Linton’s 1,679 votes, a 110-vote margin of victory. Revis got 51.56 percent of the 3,466 votes cast in the special election.
He won in both Jefferson and St. Louis counties.
In Jefferson County, Revis received 1,558 votes, 51.05 percent, to Linton’s 1,494, 48.95 percent, and in St. Louis County, Revis got 229 votes, 55.31 percent, to Linton’s 185 votes, 44.69 percent.
Revis, 27, of the Jefferson County portion of Fenton, could not be reached for comment this morning (Feb. 7).
During his campaign, Revis said he opposes the Right to Work law, supports more funding for public education and wants to protect health care, especially for Missouri seniors.
Revis, who lives at 22 Circle Drive, is a Rockwood Summit High School graduate and has a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in marketing from the University of Missouri in Columbia.
He worked for Amazon in Dallas, Texas, before returning to the St. Louis area four years ago to work for Anheuser-Busch.
Republican David Linton, 59, also lives in the Fenton area of Jefferson County and is an attorney.
Linton said there was a low turnout of Republicans on Tuesday.
“The turnout was abysmal on the Republican side,” he said. “It was an odd special election and I think the turnout was low due to weather and a number of other factors.”
The current state representative term in the 97th district expires Dec. 31, so the primary election for the next term will be held Aug. 7.
Linton said today he did not know if he will run for the Republican primary.
“It’s too early to ask me that,” he said. I would never say that there is not a possibility, but it’s too early to ask.”
After McCaherty resigned his seat in the Missouri’s House of Representatives, Gov. Eric Greitens called for a special election and each of Missouri’s political parties’ district committees chose a candidate to put on the ballot.
