Jefferson County Executive Ken Waller, when asked his prediction for how things might unfold in Tuesday’s (Nov. 6) general election, predicted a “purple wave.”
“I don’t think it’s going to be a red wave (for Republicans) or a blue wave (for Democrats,” Waller said. “Isn’t purple when you mix red and blue? I think Republicans will win some, and Democrats will win some.”
In final, unofficial voting for countywide offices, Waller’s purple turned out to be almost all red, with only a slight touch of blue mixed in, as Republicans claimed all but one of the offices up for grabs.
(For final, unofficial results of most races, see table at bottom of this story.)
That result looked similar to most of the countywide elections since 2010.
Voter turnout was heavy, with 59.6 percent of the county’s 153,013 registered voters showing up to cast ballots. That’s far better than the most recent mid-term election, in November 2014, which attracted a turnout of 39.92 percent.
However, it didn’t come close to the turnout posted in the November 2016 general election, which featured a presidential race. In that election, 73.74 of Jefferson Countians turned out to vote.
Waller contributed to the red tint, he won the closest race of the night, for county clerk. Waller, a Republican, triumphed over Democrat Randy Holman by just over 2,600 votes.
Waller polled 51.44 percent to Holman’s 48.42 percent.
Before Waller announced that he would not seek a third four-year term as county executive, he had appointed Holman to fill a vacancy created when Democrat Wes Wagner resigned in the middle of his third four-year term. Waller later decided to try for county clerk.
The only county Democrat to claim victory on Tuesday was Collector Beth Mahn, who turned back a challenge from Republican Lisa “Brewer” Short for her ninth consecutive term.
Replacing Waller as county executive will be De Soto businessman Dennis Gannon, who easily outpaced Democrat Jeff Roorda, a union leader and former state representative.
Gannon will have two new members of the seven-member County Council to deal with, as Republican Tracey Perry unseated Democrat Dan Darian in District 5 and Brian Haskins will be sworn in as the District 1 representative. Haskins, also a Republican, was running unopposed after defeating two-term incumbent Don Bickowski in August’s primary election.
Republican incumbents Phil Hendrickson (District 3) and Jim Terry (District 7) were elected to new four-year terms.
For other countywide offices, a pair of Republican incumbents, Circuit Clerk Mike Reuter and Recorder Debbie “Dunnegan” Waters, easily won new terms against their Democratic opponents. Reuter downed former Auditor Dorothy Stafford for a second term and Waters turned back a challenge from Erin Kasten to claim her third four-year term.
Republican Kristy Apprill, who was appointed earlier this year to succeed Richard Carter III, who had upset Stafford four years ago but resigned in May, defeated Democrat Charles Huey. Apprill has worked in the auditor’s office for 19 years.
In an open seat created when Democrat Forrest Wegge opted not to run for fourth four-year term, Republican Trisha Stefanski won over fellow assistant prosecutor Tom Hollingsworth.
In another open seat, for the Division 4 seat on Jefferson County’s Circuit Court, Republican Brenda Stacey, currently the Div. 11 associate circuit judge, will replace Democrat Mark Stoll, who decided against running for a sixth four-year term. Stacey attracted more votes than Democrat Jacob “Jake” Costello, an assistant Jefferson County prosecuting attorney.
In races for spots in Missouri’s General Assembly, Republicans made a clean sweep, with incumbent Paul Wieland cruising to a second four-year term for District 22 in the state Senate. Challenges from Democrat Robert Butler and Libertarian Richie Camden fell short.
Incumbent Republicans who won new two-year terms in the state House of Representatives were Shane Roden (District 111), Rob Vescovo (District 112), Dan Shaul (District 113) and Becky Ruth (District 114).
In an open seat in District 118, Republican Mike McGirl decisively defeated his Democratic opponent, Barbara Marco, and in District 97, Republican Mary Elizabeth Coleman appeared to be on the way to unseating Democratic incumbent Mike Revis, with all of the votes in Jefferson County tabulated and some in the west St. Louis County portion of that district.
In the only local ballot issue, the Rock Township Ambulance District passed a $23 million bond issue. It required a 4/7ths majority to pass and attracted 64.67 percent.
“I’m beyond excited,” Chief Jerry Appleton said, “but boy, we have so much work to do.”
In incomplete results for local seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, all three incumbent Republicans appeared to be in position to win new terms: Ann Wagner (District 2), Blaine Leutkemeyer (District 3) and Jason Smith (District 8).
Of the three, Wagner’s race was the most competitive, as she was leading Democratic challenger Cort VanOstran and two others, 51.7 percent to VanOstran’s 46.46 percent, with only about 13 percent of the precincts reporting in.
For updates, check the Missouri Secretary of State’s website, https://enr.sos.mo.gov, and the Jefferson County website, https://www.livevoterturnout.com/JeffersonMO/LiveResults/en/Index_2.html.
ELECTION RESULTS
Unofficial results of contested races from Tuesday’s election. Incumbents denoted with (I). Winners in bold. Issues require a simple majority for passage unless otherwise indicated. Unless otherwise indicated, results reflect 100 percent of the vote. Political party designations: (R) Republican Party; (D) Democratic Party; (L) Libertarian Party; (G) Green Party; (I) Independent.
County Executive
Dennis Gannon (R) 50,708 58.26%
Jeff Roorda (D) 36,214 41.61%
County Council
District 3
Phil Hendrickson (R) 6,289 53.73%
Krystal Hargis (D) 5,403 46.16%
District 5
Tracey Perry (R) 7,833 60.80%
Dan Darian (D) 5,034 39.07%
District 7
Jim Terry (R) (i) 7,331 59.28%
Amy Jennewein (D) 5,014 40.54%
County Clerk
Ken Waller (R) 44,815 51.44%
Randy B. Holman (D) 42,183 48.42%
Recorder
Debbie "Dunnegan" Waters (R) (i) 50,790 58.76%
Erin Kasten (D) 35,554 41.13%
Collector
Lisa "Brewer" Short (R) 41,677 47.26%
Beth Mahn (D) (i) 46,448 52.67%
Auditor
Kristy L. Apprill (R) 54,780 63.74%
Charles M. Huey (D) 31,082 36.16%
Prosecuting Attorney
Trisha C. Stefanski (R) 51,817 59.80%
Tom Hollingsworth (D) 34,712 40.06%
Circuit Judge Division 4
Brenda Stacey (R) 51,206 59.79%
Jacob (Jake) Costello (D) 34,306 40.05%
Circuit Clerk
Mike Reuter (R) 49,995 57.99%
Dorothy Stafford (D) 36,116 41.89%
STATE SENATE
District 22
Paul Wieland (R) (i) 40,553 58.28%
Robert Butler (D) 26,896 38.65%
Richie Camden (L) 2,077 2.99%
District 26
(Partial results only)
Dave Schatz (R) (i) 31,524 65.28%
John Kiehne (D) 16,767 34.72%
STATE HOUSE
District 97
(Partial results only)
Mary Elizabeth Coleman (R) 7,644 56.29%
Mike Revis (D) (i) 5,935 43.71%
District 110
(Partial results only)
Dottie Bailey (R) 2,927 58.16%
Cody Kelley (D) 2,106 41.84%
District 111
Shane Roden (R) (i) 9,824 65.26%
Phoebe Ottomeyer (D) 5,211 34.62%
District 112
Rob Vescovo (R) (i) 9,621 61.19%
Benjamin Hagin (D) 6,073 38.62%
District 113
Dan Shaul (R) (i) 7,939 56.45%
Karen Settlemoir-Berg (D) 6,107 43.43%
District 114
Becky Ruth (R) (i) 9,663 67.56%
Dennis McDonald (D) 4,623 32.32%
District 118
Mike McGirl (R) 8,215 65.70%
Barbara Marco (D) 4,289 34.30%
ROCK TOWNSHIP AMBULANCE
$23 million bond issue
(4/7ths majority required)
Yes 22,892 64.67%
No 12,508 35.33%