11/4/2020 General Election Update

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Republicans sweep Missouri statewide offices Nov. 3

Governor Mike Parson (R) defeated his Democratic opponent, current State Auditor Nicole Galloway, 57 to 41 percent, on November 3, a margin of victory that mirrored President Donald Trump (R) over Joe Biden (D) in Missouri.

Parson received 1,713,152 votes versus Galloway’s 1,216,192.

Trump received 1,711,848 tallies and Biden, 1,242,851.

Other current statewide officeholders, all of whom are Republicans, won their bids for four-year terms, and each gained more than 1.7 million votes.

Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe (R) defeated Alissia Canady (D), by a margin of 58 to 39 percent.

Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft (R) defeated Yinka Faleti (D), 60.5 to 36 percent.

State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick (R) downed Vicki Englund (D), 59 to 38 percent.

And, Attorney General Eric Schmitt (R) defeated Rich Finneran (D), 59 to 38 percent.

In each of the statewide races, third-party candidates were on the ballot but finished in the distance with relatively few votes.

Republicans hold their supermajority in the House and Senate

On November 3, all 163 members of the Missouri House of Representatives and 17 of the 34 State Senate districts were up for election. The Republicans https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Missouri-General-Election-Update.html?soid=1129652874173&aid=gh9KWr1GlvU 1/3 11/4/2020 Missouri General Election Update outperformed the Democrats across the state and won nearly all the contested seats. For 2021, the Republicans will hold a 24-10 majority in the Senate and a 114-49 majority in the House.

Senate Majority Floor Leader (R-Columbia) narrowly defeated Democrat challenger Judy Baker in one of the state’s most expensive and closely followed races. Rowden relied on strong support from the rural communities of his district to win re-election to this central Missouri seat that includes the , Columbia. Senator Andrew Koenig (R- Manchester) was re-elected to his suburban St. Louis seat by defeating State Rep. (D-Kirkwood) by nine points. Lavender was a strong candidate that had an edge with fundraising, however the Republicans found a path to victory in St. Louis County. The Democrats were expecting an upset in both of the seats.

In the House, very few upsets occurred. The only incumbent to fail re-election was State Rep. Steve Helms (R-Springfield), who was defeated by Democrat challenger by 34 votes. The House Democrats had targeted eight seats and were only successful in District 135 in southwest Missouri (Helms).

The House Democrat and Republican caucuses are in Jefferson City today to vote on their leadership positions for the 2021-2022 sessions. Majority Floor Leader (R-Arnold) is expected to be the next Speaker of the House and Minority Floor Leader (D-Springfield) is also expected to maintain her leadership post. We will provide an update on all leadership elections later this week when they are finalized.

Wagner defeats Schupp in Congressional Race

Seven of Missouri’s eight current Members of Congress are returning to Washington, DC, after the November 3 general election.

The closest race this week resulted in Rep. Ann Wagner (R) defeating her Democrat challenger Jill Schupp by a margin of 52 to 45 percent; 230,617 votes (Wagner) to 201,520 (Schupp). The Wagner-Schupp race for District 2 in the St. Louis suburbs received much attention. Schupp will return to Jefferson City with two years remaining as a state senator.

In St. Louis City, Democrat Cori Bush easily won her District 1 Congressional race with nearly 79 percent of the vote. Bush will replace Rep. Lacy Clay in Washington. In August, Bush surprised Clay in the primary election, beating the long-time politician.

Other Missourians headed back to Congress are Reps. -R (District 3), Vicky Hartzler-R (District 4), Emanuel Cleaver II-D (District 5), Sam Graves-R (District 6), Billy Long-R (District 7), and Jason Smith-R (District 8).

Missourians divided on two statewide ballot issues https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Missouri-General-Election-Update.html?soid=1129652874173&aid=gh9KWr1GlvU 2/3 11/4/2020 Missouri General Election Update

Missouri voters decided two statewide ballot issues November 3, approving Amendment 3 that reverses new methods of legislative redistricting that were approved by voters in 2018, and defeating Amendment 1 that would have limited all statewide officeholders to serving no more than two four-year terms. Vote margins were close on both issues.

The vote on Amendment 3, known as “Cleaner Missouri,” was 51 to 49 percent; 1,471,892 yes, and 1,413,223 no.

The vote on Amendment 1, the term limits proposal, was 48 to 52 percent; 1,373,891 yes, and 1,486,860 no.

Amendment 3, placed on the ballot by legislators in May 2020, became a highly controversial issue leading up to November 3. The approved amendment makes changes in regulating the General Assembly and modifies redistricting methods in Article III of the state’s constitution (known as “Clean Missouri” and approved by voters statewide two years ago).

The approval of Amendment 3 eliminates the position of “non-partisan state demographer” whose task would have been to draw state legislative districts. Amendment 3 also provides a total ban (currently $5) on gifts from lobbyists or lobbyist principals to a member, staff member or employee of the General Assembly, and sets a campaign contribution limit to any State Senate candidate or committee of $2,400 or less (currently $2,500 or less). Removal of the post of “non-partisan state demographer” gives all redistricting responsibility to existing commissions, renamed as the House Independent Bipartisan Citizens Commission and the Senate Independent Bipartisan Citizens Commission.

Defeat by voters of Amendment 1 on the November 3 ballot means the two-term restriction that currently applies only to the Missouri Governor and to the State Treasurer was not extended to the offices of Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, State Auditor, State Treasurer, or Attorney General.

Special Session starts this week

Members of the Missouri General Assembly will return to Jefferson City for a special session, beginning Thursday, November 5. Governor Mike Parson (R) is asking lawmakers to pass a supplemental budget to address additional federal funds that have been made available for the state to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. It's possible that COVID-19 liability protections for Missouri businesses may be added by the Governor to the special session's agenda.

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