The national election occurred on Nov. 5, 2024 across the United States. Columbia residents participated in historic numbers at the Boone County polls, with about a 68% voter turnout and 90,857 votes counted on Election Day, according to Boone County’s official website.

Federal candidates

Republican President-elect Donald Trump was elected for a second nonconsecutive term with 312 electoral votes, defeating Democratic candidate and current Vice President Kamala Harris who earned 226 electoral votes, according to the Associated Press. During his campaign, Trump said that as president, some of his plans are to seal the border, end inflation and cut federal funding for schools. JD Vance, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and former Ohio Senator, will serve as Trump’s vice president.

Republican incumbent Josh Hawley was reelected for a second term against Democratic candidate Lucas Kunce. Hawley previously served as the Missouri attorney general, and has been a senator since 2019. He describes his platform as advocating for American workers and religious liberty and criticized Amendment 3 in a debate with Kunce on Oct. 31.

State candidates

Republican Lt. Gov Mike Kehoe defeated Democratic candidate Crystal Quade, Libertarian candidate Bill Slatnz and Green Party candidate Paul Lehmann in the Missouri governor race winning 59.2% of the vote. During his campaign Kehoe was a strong advocate for the passing of Amendment 2 and better funding of public education and objected to the passing of Amendment 3 and Proposition A.

Republican candidate David Wasinger won 57% of the vote, against Democratic candidate Richard Brown, for lieutenant governor of Missouri on election night. Wasinger’s priorities include promoting governmental transparency and accountability, fighting for border security and advocating for senior and veteran support, according to his campaign website. Libertarian candidate Ken Iverson and Green Party candidate Danielle Elliott each gained about 2% of the vote in the race. 

Republican candidate Denny Hoskins won Missouri’s secretary of state position over Democratic candidate Barbara Phifer with about 58% of the vote. Libertarian candidate Carl Herman Freese won about 2% of the vote and Green Party candidate Jerome Bauer won 1% of the vote. Some of Hoskins’ key issues include “eliminating abortions,” defending election integrity and standing against the “woke agenda,” according to his campaign website. 

Republican Treasurer Vivek Malek won the general election against Democratic candidate Mark Osmack with about 58% of the vote. Libertarian candidate John Hartwig gained almost 3% of the vote and Green Party candidate Reagan Haase earned a little over 1% of the vote. Malek first entered the position in 2023 and advocates to protect taxpayers money and to promote programs including MOST, MoScholars, MoAble and MoBuck, according to the Missouri treasurer website. 

Attorney General Andrew Bailey beat Democratic candidate Elad Gross with about 60% of the vote. Libertarian Ryan Munro had 66,355 voters, summing to around 2.3% of the race, according to The Washington Post. Bailey first took the seat in 2023, following several years as an officer in the U.S. Army and several more in various positions in Missouri’s governor office. Learn more about Bailey’s policies in a previous Maneater article, “Andrew Bailey and Elad Gross set to battle in Nov. 5 attorney general election.”

Democratic candidate Stephen Webber beat Republican candidate James Coyne for District 19 representative in the Missouri Senate with about 60% of the vote. Webber believes in strong public schools, good jobs, safe communities and the freedom for people to  make their own healthcare decisions, according to his website. 

Democratic candidate Gregg Bush beat Republican candidate John Lane as the District 50 representative for the Missouri House of Representatives. 

Boone County residents also voted to keep both  Kelly Broniec and Ginger K. Gooch, Missouri Supreme Court judges, for an additional 12 years. 

Every Missouri Court of Appeals Western District seat presented on the ballot was voted to be reelected, including Judges Cynthia Lynette Martin, Janet Sutton and Gary Witt. Each judge will be able to complete another 12 years of service. 

Local candidates

Democratic candidate Justin Aldred beat Republican candidate Sam Turner with over 5,000 more votes for Associate Commissioner in District 1. Aldred has been Boone County’s District 1 Commissioner since 2020. 

Democratic candidate Janet Thompson beat Republican candidate Cheri Toalson Reisch with over 1,700 more votes for Associate Commissioner in District 2. Thompson is also the incumbent for the position, and has been the District 2 Associate Commissioner since 2013. 

Democratic incumbent Dwayne Carey was the sole candidate for Boone County sheriff. Carey has been Boone County Sheriff since 2005, where he has helped introduce task programs and recently started projects to build a law enforcement training center and a child care center. 

Democratic incumbent Kenny Mohr was also the sole candidate for Boone County assessor. Mohr has been the Boone County assessor since 2020. In the August 2023 issue of COMO Business Times magazine, Mohr said he actively works to make his assessments as fair and equitable as possible. According to Boone County, the assessor is in charge of evaluating the value of county property.

Democratic incumbent Jenna Redel beat Republican candidate Dustin Stanton for Boone County treasurer on Tuesday with over 53% of the vote. Redel has had the seat since 2023 and, according to her campaign website, has modernized investment policies, established an Investment Review Committee, improved communication, developed comprehensive cash flow models and has helped earn over $4 million in proceeds for the county. 

Democratic candidate Chimene Schwach will be the public administrator for Boone County as the only candidate that competed to take Sonja Boone’s current seat. Schwach ran for House District 47 in 2022, but lost the primary election to Adrian Plank. The public administrator is a “conservator for mentally disabled persons” and minor estates, as well as a personal representative of deceased estates, according to the Boone County website. 

Democratic incumbent Sherry Terrell won back her seat as circuit court clerk against Republican candidate Amanda Old with over 55% of the vote. Terrell has been working in the Boone County Circuit Court Office for over 20 years, according to her campaign website. 

Measures

With a very small margin of less than 3,000 votes according to AP, Missouri residents voted “Yes” for Amendment 2,  which would give the Missouri Gambling Commission permission to allow licensed entities to offer sports wagering through online sports wagering platforms.  It would also allow license fees and a 10% wagering tax on revenues received to be appropriated for an estimated $29 million towards educational purposes. The state would have a deadline of no later than Dec. 1, 2025 to establish sports wagering across the state.  Only individuals 21 years of age or older would be able to participate in sports wagering.

Missouri residents voted “Yes” on Amendment 3, giving citizens the right to make reproductive decisions without government interference. This overturns the state’s pre-existing abortion ban, but it is unknown when or how the bill will go into effect due to the ban complicating the process of legalization, and it will likely go through the courts before it is established as law. 

Missouri residents voted “No” on Amendment 5, which would have allowed the Missouri Gaming Commission to issue one additional gambling boat license to operate on the portion of the Osage River from the Missouri River to the Bagnell Dam. 

Missouri residents voted “No” on Amendment 6, which rejected the proposed repealment of Article I of Section 14 of the Missouri Constitution with additional wordage that would reinstate a $3 court fee that would fund the retirement system for sheriffs, prosecutor attorneys and attorneys working under the circuit after it was deemed unconstitutional in 2015.

Missouri residents voted “Yes” on Amendment 7, which prohibits the usage of ranked choice voting in Missouri. Ranked choice voting would allow voters to rank candidates in order of preference, rather than voting for a singular candidate.  The ballot also prohibits non-U.S citizens from voting in the state, even though it was already illegal to do so. 

Missouri residents voted “Yes” on Prop A, which would increase the minimum wage in Missouri to $13.75 on Jan.1, 2025 and then to $15 in 2026. The passage of Proposition A will not affect taxes and will also require employers with over 15 employees to provide an hour of paid sick leave for every thirty hours worked. However, governmental entities, school districts and other educational institutions are exempt from the change. 

Edited by Maya Dawson and Eric Hughes | mdawson@themaneater.com ehughes@themaneater.com 

Copyedited by Hannah Taylor | htaylor@themaneater.com

Edited by Emilia Hansen | ehansen@themaneater.com 

Edited by Emily Skidmore | eskidmore@themaneater.com