(The Center Square) – Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe trailed Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft by 35 points 15 months ago but won the Republican nomination for Missouri governor on Tuesday with 39% of the vote.
“We were down by that much even four months ago,” Kehoe said in a speech to supporters. “But we believed in our cause. More importantly, you believed in us. And so many people around Missouri – including veterans, the police, firefighters, farmers and ranchers – they all believed in us.”
Ashcroft, whose father is a former Missouri governor and was U.S. Attorney General, finished third with 23% of the vote. Bill Eigel, a state senator from Weldon Springs and former Freedom Caucus leader, was second with 33%. There were nine candidates in the Republican primary for governor, but the race narrowed to Kehoe, Ashcroft and Eigel, who were endorsed by former President Donald Trump.
Kehoe will face House Minority Leader Crystal Quade from Springfield as she won the Democratic nomination. Quade received 50% of the vote in the five-way race for the nomination and Springfield businessman Mike Hamra, running in his first political campaign, was second with 32%.
“I’m excited to hit the ground running and bring our message to every corner of Missouri: enough with the extremism and government overreach,” Quade posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. “It’s time Missouri has a leader who will fight for working families.”
Here are the results of the primaries of other statewide offices and constitutional amendments:
Lieutenant Governor: Dave Wassinger, a lawyer from St. Louis, won the six-way race for the Republican nomination with 31% of the vote. State Sen. Lincoln Hough of Springfield was second with 30%. Wassinger will face House Assistant Minority leader Richard Brown, D-Kansas City, who defeated Anastasia Syes for the Democratic nomination with 65% of the vote.
Secretary of State: State Sen. Denny Hoskins gained 24% of the vote to win the eight-candidate field of Republicans. Rep. Barbara Phifer from St. Louis County won the Democratic nomination with 41% of the vote in a three-way race.
Attorney General: Andrew Bailey, who was appointed to the position by Republican Gov. Mike Parson after Eric Schmitt was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2022, defeated challenger Will Scharf in the GOP primary with 63% of the vote. Scharf campaigned on his role as a member of former President Donald Trump’s legal team. Elad Gross ran unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Treasurer: Vivek Malek, who was appointed Treasurer by Parson after Scott Fitzpatrick was elected Auditor, won his first election with 42% of the vote in a six-candidate race. He will face Democrat Mark Osmack, who ran unopposed.
Amendment 1: An initiative to exempt child care providers from paying property taxes was defeated with 55% of the vote.
Amendment 4: A proposal to mandate 25% of Kansas City’s general revenue be allocated to its state-run police department was approved by 51% of voters. It passed with more than 60% of the vote in 2022, but the Missouri Supreme Court ordered a new election due to an insufficient description of the economic impact of the initiative on that ballot.
