By Richard AuBuchon, AuBuchon Law Firm LLC, https://rmalobby.com/
NOVEMBER 8, 2022
(THE DAY AFTER)
GENERAL ELECTION REPORT
The dust has settled in Missouri on the November 8, 2022 General Election. Intensity on the election was low. Missouri was not a battleground state for the nation and there was a lower amount of national level advertising in the state as a consequence.
As predicted, there were few to no surprises in the General Election in Missouri. In the US Senate race, Republican Eric Schmitt, won handily by thirteen points. The race for Missouri Auditor was won by Republican Scott Fitzpatrick by twenty-two points. Governor Parson will now appoint a Missouri Attorney General and a Missouri Treasurer at a later date. It is like bonus day here for Governor Parson.
Again, Congressional races were won at the primary level. Eric Burlison was elected to Congressional District 7. Mark Alford was elected to Congressional District 4. The incumbents return to Congress: Cory Bush (Cong. Dist. 1), Ann Wagner (Cong. Dist. 2), Blaine Luetkemeyer (Cong. Dist. 3), Emanuel Cleaver II (Cong. Dist. 5), Sam Graves (Cong. Dist. 6), and Jason Smith (Cong. Dist. 8).
Of the seventeen Missouri Senate seats up for election this year, only one was competitive (or at least it was thought to be competitive). Democrat Tracy McCreery easily won her election in St. Louis County Senate District 24 against Republican Dr. George Hruza. Not quite the barn burner election to watch as McCreery won by ten points. A marshmallow might be safe in that kind of fire.
All one hundred and sixty-three House seats are up for election or re-election. There were sixty- six uncontested Republican seats and twenty-eight uncontested Democrat seats. Meaning there were ninety-four seats that experienced contested elections. Of those contested only a handful were truly competitive and the Democrats picked up some seats this year compared to previous elections. Democrats ended the night with fifty-two seats, which is the best performance for Democrats in Missouri since 2010. Republicans now have one-hundred and eleven seats in the House.
There were five questions presented for the ballot:
Amendment 1 failed, which would have given the Treasurer more flexibility in investments.
Amendment 3, passed, authorizing recreational use of marijuana. The election was not a landslide victory but passed nonetheless. Clean up language is already being discussed to fix pieces in the Amendment that were poorly drafted.
Amendment 4 passed which limited authority of political subdivisions from defunding police.
Amendment 5 passed which made the National Guard its own Department rather than reporting to the Department of Public Safety.
And lastly Missouri rejected calling of a Constitutional Convention to rewrite the Missouri Constitution.