Missouri judicial elections, 2014

Missouri judicial elections, 2014
Overview
Total candidates:	270
Primary candidates:	212
General election candidates:	49
Incumbency
Incumbents:	171
Incumbent success rate:	95%
Competition - general election
Percent of candidates in contested races:	22%
Percent uncontested:	56%
Percent retention:	22%
Partisan victories
Republican	93
Democratic	54

Judicial Elections
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Judicial election dates
Candidates by state
Supreme court elections

The Missouri judicial elections consist of both partisan and retention elections. In 2014, 270 candidates participated in Missouri's judicial elections. Of these candidates, 171 were incumbent judges, and all but nine were re-elected to their seats. Twenty-four contested races and 127 uncontested races took place in the general election on November 4, 2014.

Missouri Supreme Court Justices Laura Denvir Stith and Paul C. Wilson were both successfully retained this year, with 64.1% and 63.2% "yes" votes, respectively. Six court of appeals judges were retained as well.

In the five counties where retention elections were held for circuit court judges (St. Louis, Jackson, Clay, Platte and Greene counties), 41 incumbent judges were retained. The partisan elections this year consisted of 93 Republican candidate winners and 54 Democratic winners.

See Missouri elections summary, 2014 for an overview of this state's election results.

Election dates

• March 25: Filing deadline for primary
• August 5: Primary
• August 19: Filing deadline for general election
• November 4: General election

In addition to candidate lists, this page includes information about how the state's judicial elections work, as well as articles about noteworthy news in races across the state.

General election: Contested races

(I) denotes incumbent

19th Judicial Circuit Court, Division 4

• Brian Stumpe, 47.1%A
• Patricia S. Joyce (I), 53%A

25th Judicial Circuit Court, Magistrate Division

• Colin Long (I), 61%A
• Jeff Thomas (Missouri), 38.9%A

25th Judicial Circuit Court, Probate Division

• Michael V. Headrick, 60.5%A
• Ronda L. Cortesini, 39.4%A

3rd Judicial Circuit Court, Associate Judge, Mercer County

• J. Brad Funk, 38.1%A
• Matt Krohn, 54.1%A

4th Judicial Circuit Court, Associate Judge, Nodaway County

• Doug Thomson, 73.2%A
• Tina Meyer Deiter, 26.8%A

5th Judicial Circuit Court, Associate Judge, Division 5

• David Peppard, 31.6%A
• Keith Marquart (I), 68.4%A

5th Judicial Circuit Court, Associate Judge, Division 6

• Chad Gaddie, 47.7%A
• Rebecca Spencer, 52.3%A

13th Judicial Circuit Court, Associate Judge, Division 5

• Kim Shaw, 51.9%A
• Michael R. Whitworth, 48.1%A

15th Judicial Circuit Court, Associate Judge, Lafayette County, Division 2

• Russell J. Kruse, 55.5%A
• Valoree Maycock, 44.5%A

18th Judicial Circuit Court, Associate Judge, Division 6

• Carmen Smith, 22.5%A
• Deborah Mitchell, 21.9%A
• Jeff Mittelhauser, 55.6%A

23rd Judicial Circuit Court, Associate Judge, Division 10

• Jeffrey Coleman, 54.6%A
• Joseph Rathert (I), 45.3%A

23rd Judicial Circuit Court, Associate Judge, Division 11

• Brenda Stacey, 58%A
• Ray Dickhaner, 41.8%A

23rd Judicial Circuit Court, Associate Judge, Division 12

• Antonio "Tony" Manansala (I), 55.3%A
• Stephen Bouchard, 44.6%A

25th Judicial Circuit Court, Associate Judge, Division 1

• Brian Woolley, 47.6%A
• Ronald D. White, 52.3%A

25th Judicial Circuit Court, Associate Judge, Division 2

• Kenneth G. Clayton, 45.3%A
• Mark Calvert, 54.6%A

27th Judicial Circuit Court, Associate Judge, Saint Clair County

• Jerry J. Rellihan, 62.5%A
• Joleene Simmons, 37.5%A

30th Judicial Circuit Court, Associate Judge, Division 2

• David T. Tunnell (I), 63.3%A
• James M. Owen, 36.7%A

32nd Judicial Circuit Court, Associate Judge, Division 6

• Craig Brewer, 54.2%A
• Jason Tilley, 45.8%A

34th Judicial Circuit Court, Associate Judge, Pemiscot County, Division 2

• Bill Carter, 72.0%A
• David Wiegert, 28.0%A

35th Judicial Circuit Court, Associate Judge, Stoddard County, Division 2

• Joe Z. Satterfield, 53.6%A
• Justin Kelley, 46.4%A

39th Judicial Circuit Court, Lawrence County Associate Judge, Division 2

• Randee Stemmons, 34.9%A
• Robert George, 65.1%A

41st Judicial Circuit Court, Associate Judge, Macon County

• Kristen Burks, 48.9%A
• Philip Prewitt, 51.1%A

42nd Judicial Circuit Court, Associate Judge, Crawford County

• Scott Bernstein, 50.2%A
• Susan E. Bell, 49.8%A

45th Judicial Circuit Court, Associate Judge, Lincoln County, Division III

• Gregory K. Allsberry, 50.6%A
• Patrick S. Flynn (I), 49.2%A

Retentions

The following judges were retained in 2014. In retention elections, the incumbent judge is not being evaluated against an opponent. Rather, he or she simply receives votes of "yes" to retain or "no", do not retain.

Appellate courts

Court	Judge	Votes
Click the arrows in the column headings to sort columns alphabetically.
Missouri Court of Appeals	Angela T. Quigless	61.1%A
Missouri Court of Appeals	Anthony Rex Gabbert	65.1%A
Missouri Supreme Court	Laura Denvir Stith	64.1%A
Missouri Court of Appeals	Lisa Van Amburg	67.3%A
Missouri Court of Appeals	Lisa White Hardwick	66.8%A
Missouri Court of Appeals	Mary Sheffield (Missouri)	69.2%A
Missouri Court of Appeals	Nancy Steffen Rahmeyer	68.2%A
Missouri Supreme Court	Paul C. Wilson	63.1%A

Trial courts

Court	Judge	Votes
Click the arrows in the column headings to sort columns alphabetically.
Missouri 22nd Judicial Circuit Court	Barbara T. Peebles	66.4%A
Missouri 22nd Judicial Circuit Court	Christopher McGraugh	64.1%A
Missouri 31st Judicial Circuit Court	Dan Imhof	76.7%A
Missouri 31st Judicial Circuit Court	David C. Jones	75.7%A
Missouri 7th Judicial Circuit Court	David Chamberlain	62.9%A
Missouri 22nd Judicial Circuit Court	David L. Dowd	67.6%A
Missouri 21st Judicial Circuit Court	Dennis Smith (Missouri judge)
Missouri 22nd Judicial Circuit Court	Elizabeth Hogan	69.1%A
Missouri 21st Judicial Circuit Court	Ellen H. Ribaudo	60.7%A
Missouri 16th Judicial Circuit Court	Gregory B. Gillis	63.8%A
Missouri 6th Judicial Circuit Court	James W. Van Amburg	67.3%A
Missouri 7th Judicial Circuit Court	Janet Sutton	63.2%A
Missouri 31st Judicial Circuit Court	Jason R. Brown	76.6%A
Missouri 16th Judicial Circuit Court	Jeffrey L. Bushur	63.6%A
Missouri 21st Judicial Circuit Court	John D. Warner, Jr.	57.8%A
Missouri 22nd Judicial Circuit Court	John J. Riley	65.3%A
Missouri 16th Judicial Circuit Court	John M. Torrence	63.7%A
Missouri 21st Judicial Circuit Court	Judy P. Draper	58%A
Missouri 22nd Judicial Circuit Court	Julian L. Bush	64.6%A
Missouri 7th Judicial Circuit Court	Karen L. Krauser	62.3%A
Missouri 16th Judicial Circuit Court	Kenneth R. Garrett	64.7%A
Missouri 16th Judicial Circuit Court	Kevin D. Harrell	64%A
Missouri 21st Judicial Circuit Court	Kristine Allen Kerr	60.8%A
Missouri 21st Judicial Circuit Court	Lawrence J. Permutter	57.4%A
Missouri 31st Judicial Circuit Court	Mark A. Powell	77.2%A
Missouri 21st Judicial Circuit Court	Mary E. Ott	62.3%A
Missouri 16th Judicial Circuit Court	Mary F. Weir	66%A
Missouri 21st Judicial Circuit Court	Maura McShane	60.2%A
Missouri 22nd Judicial Circuit Court	Michael F. Stelzer	63.7%A
Missouri 22nd Judicial Circuit Court	Michael W. Noble	66.2%A
Missouri 21st Judicial Circuit Court	Patrick Clifford	57.1%A
Missouri 16th Judicial Circuit Court	Patrick W. Campbell	64.2%A
Missouri 22nd Judicial Circuit Court	Paula Perkins Bryant	70%A
Missouri 16th Judicial Circuit Court	Richard T. Standridge	63.5%A
Missouri 16th Judicial Circuit Court	Robert M. Schieber	64.1%A
Missouri 21st Judicial Circuit Court	Robert S. Cohen	58.7%A
Missouri 21st Judicial Circuit Court	Steven H. Goldman	58%A
Missouri 22nd Judicial Circuit Court	Steven R. Ohmer	64.6%A
Missouri 22nd Judicial Circuit Court	Timothy J. Wilson	66.5%A
Missouri 21st Judicial Circuit Court	Tom W. DePriest, Jr.	57.9%A
Missouri 16th Judicial Circuit Court	Twila K. Rigby	65.1%A

General election: Uncontested

The following candidates were elected or re-elected after running unopposed in the general election.

Trial courts

Court	Candidate
Click the arrows in the column headings to sort columns alphabetically.
26th Judicial Circuit Court	Aaron Koeppen
20th Judicial Circuit Court	Ada Brehe-Krueger
39th Judicial Circuit Court, Associate Judge position	Alan Blankenship
9th Judicial Circuit Court, Chariton County associate judge position	Andrea Ravens Vandeloecht
13th Judicial Circuit Court	Carol England
17th Judicial Circuit Court	Chad Pfister
28th Judicial Circuit Court	Charles Curless
14th Judicial Circuit Court, Randolph County associate judge position	Cindy Suter
4th Judicial Circuit Court	Corey K. Herron
44th Judicial Circuit Court	Cynthia O. MacPherson
17th Judicial Circuit Court	Dan Olsen
19th Judicial Circuit Court	Daniel Green
43rd Judicial Circuit Court	Daren Adkins
23rd Judicial Circuit Court	Darrell E. Missey
45th Judicial Circuit Court, Pike County associate judge position	David Ash
20th Judicial Circuit Court	David B. Tobben
20th Judicial Circuit Court	David L. Hoven
10th Judicial Circuit Court	David Mobley
28th Judicial Circuit Court	David Munton
13th Judicial Circuit Court	Deborah Daniels
27th Judicial Circuit Court	Debra A. Hopkins
37th Judicial Circuit Court	Don M. Henry
38th Judicial Circuit Court	Doug Bacon
25th Judicial Circuit Court	Douglas D. Gaston
42nd Judicial Circuit Court	Edith R. Rutter
44th Judicial Circuit Court	Elizabeth A. Bock
11th Judicial Circuit Court, St. Charles County associate judge position	Elizabeth Swann
30th Judicial Circuit Court	Elizabeth V. Rohrs
38th Judicial Circuit Court	Eric Eighmy
11th Judicial Circuit Court, St. Charles County associate judge position	Erin Burlison
32nd Judicial Circuit Court	Gary Kamp
40th Judicial Circuit Court	Gregory N. Stremel
35th Judicial Circuit Court, Dunklin County associate judge position	H. Mark Preyer
37th Judicial Circuit Court	Harvey S. Allen
15th Judicial Circuit Court, Saline County associate judge position	Hugh C. Harvey
43rd Judicial Circuit Court	J. Bartley Spear
17th Judicial Circuit Court	J. Michael Rumley
30th Judicial Circuit Court	James A. Hackett
15th Judicial Circuit Court, Saline County associate judge position	James T. Bellamy
45h Judicial Circuit Court, Lincoln County associate judge position	Jim Beck
43rd Judicial Circuit Court	Jim Valbracht
13th Judicial Circuit Court	Jodie Capshaw Asel
29th Judicial Circuit Court, Jasper County associate judge position	Joe Hensley
4th Judicial Circuit Court	Joel Miller (Missouri)
25th Judicial Circuit Court	John Beger
36th Circuit Court	John Bloodworth
36th Judicial Circuit Court	John H. Shock
40th Judicial Circuit Court	John LePage
29th Judicial Circuit Court, Jasper County associate judge position	John Nicholas
30th Judicial Circuit Court	John Porter
35th Judicial Circuit Court, Dunklin County associate judge position	John Spielman
39th Judicial Circuit Court	Johnnie Cox
26th Judicial Circuit Court	Jon Kaltenbronn
10th Judicial Circuit Court	Karl DeMarce
12th Judicial Circuit Court	Kelly C. Broniec
1st Judicial Circuit Court, Schuyler County associate judge position	Kelly L. Lovekamp
15th Judicial Circuit Court	Kelly Rose
42nd Judicial Circuit Court	Kelly W. Parker
30th Judicial Circuit Court	Kenneth Thompson
8th Judicial Circuit Court, Carroll County Associate Judge position	Kevin L. Walden
26th Judicial Circuit Court	Kevin Schehr
40th Judicial Circuit Court	Kevin Selby
2nd Judicial Circuit Court	Kristie Swaim
38th Judicial Circuit Court	Larry Luna
26th Judicial Circuit Court	Larry Winfrey, Jr.
38th Judicial Circuit Court	Laura Johnson (Missouri)
13th Judicial Circuit Court	Leslie Schneider
12th Judicial Circuit Court	Linda R. Hamlett
30th Judicial Circuit Court	Lisa Henderson
8th Judicial Circuit Court, Ray County Associate Judge position	Lori J. Baskins
44th Judicial Circuit Court	Lynette Veenstra
39th Judicial Circuit Court	Mark A. Stephens (Missouri)
30th Judicial Circuit Court	Mark B. Pilley
14th Judicial Circuit Court, Howard County associate judge position	Mason R. Gebhardt
26th Judicial Circuit Court	Matt Hamner
11th Judicial Circuit Court, St. Charles County associate judge position	Matthew E.P. Thornhill
13th Judicial Circuit Court	Michael Bradley
32nd Judicial Circuit Court	Michael Gardner (Missouri)
5th Judicial Circuit Court	Michael J. Ordnung
10th Judicial Circuit Court	Michael P. Wilson
36th Judicial Circuit Court	Michael Pritchett
12th Judicial Circuit Court, Warren County assistant judge position	Michael S. Wright
41st Judicial Circuit Court	Mike Greenwell
28th Judicial Circuit Court	Neal R. Quitno
11th Judicial Circuit Court, St. Charles County associate judge position	Norman Steimel
23rd Judicial Circuit Court	Patricia A. Riehl
26th Judicial Circuit Court	Peggy Richardson
11th Judicial Circuit Court, St. Charles County associate judge position	Phillip J. Ohlms
18th Judicial Circuit Court	R. Paul Beard
42nd Judicial Circuit Court	Randall Head (Missouri)
42nd Judicial Circuit Court, Wayne County associate judge position	Randy P. Schuller
12th Judicial Circuit Court	Richard Scheibe
1st Judicial Circuit Court	Rick Roberts (Missouri)
33rd Judicial Circuit Court, Mississippi County associate judge position	Rob Barker
39th Judicial Circuit Court	Robert Foulke
24th Judicial Circuit Court	Robin Edward Fulton
3rd Judicial Circuit Court, Putnam County associate judge position	Samuel Frank
37th Judicial Circuit Court	Sandra West
9th Judicial Circuit Court	Scot T. Othic
32nd Judicial Circuit Court	Scott A. Lipke
32nd Judicial Circuit Court	Scott E. Thomsen
33rd Judicial Circuit Court, Scott County associate judge position	Scott Horman
39th Judicial Circuit Court	Scott S. Sifferman
23rd Judicial Circuit Court	Shannon Dougherty
24th Judicial Circuit Court	Shawn R. McCarver
17th Judicial Circuit Court	Stacey Lett
20th Judicial Circuit Court	Stan Williams
29th Judicial Circuit Court, Jasper County associate judge position	Stephen P. Carlton
35th Judicial Circuit Court, Stoddard County associate judge position	Stephen R. Mitchell
26th Judicial Circuit Court	Steven B. Jackson
3rd Judicial Circuit Court	Steven D. Hudson
13th Judicial Circuit Court	Sue Crane
17th Judicial Circuit Court	Sue Dodson
11th Judicial Circuit Court	Ted House
11th Judicial Circuit Court, St. Charles County associate judge position	Terry R. Cundiff
19th Judicial Circuit Court, Cole County associate judge position	Thomas L. Sodergren
3rd Judicial Circuit Court, Harrison County associate judge position	Thomas R. Alley
36th Judicial Circuit Court	Thomas Swindle
23rd Judicial Circuit Court	Timothy Miller
24th Judicial Circuit Court	Timothy W. Inman
28th Judicial Circuit Court	Tom Pyle
38th Judicial Circuit Court	Tony Williams
9th Judicial Circuit Court	Tracey A. Mason-White
37th Judicial Circuit Court	Truman Wiles
33rd Judicial Circuit Court, Scott County associate judge position	W. H. Winchester III
34th Judicial Circuit Court, Pemiscot County associate judge position	W. Keith Currie
27th Judicial Circuit Court	Wayne Strothmann
24th Judicial Circuit Court	Wendy L. Wexler Horn

Primary

For candidate lists and results from the judicial primary on August 5, 2014, please see: Missouri primary elections, 2014.

The only competitive circuit court race (not including the local elections for associate circuit judges), was for the 32nd Circuit. Michael Gardner won, narrowly defeating Trae Bertrand by just 70 votes. Allen Moss was also defeated.

Process

Trial judges who were elected in partisan elections may seek re-election at the end of their terms. They must run as a Republican, Democrat or Independent. The majority of the state's judges are selected in partisan elections. Judges first run in a party primary in August, with the winner of each primary moving on to the general election.

Judges on the supreme court and appellate courts are subject to the nonpartisan court plan and run for retention. Trial judges in five counties also run for retention in accordance with this plan. Those counties are St. Louis, Jackson, Clay, Platte and Greene.

Candidates who run unopposed are not printed on the official ballot.

Noteworthy events

The following articles were current as of the dates listed.

Candidates for competitive associate circuit seat interviewed July 24, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Runoffs, retentions and a special election Missouri offered a competitive race for the seat of retiring Associate Circuit Judge Larry Bryson in 2014. The race, which featured three Democrats and two Republicans, was for Division 5 of the 13th Circuit Court, a Boone County seat. The Democrats were Rob Fleming, Finley Gibbs and Kim Shaw. The Republicans were Doug Shull and Michael R. Whitworth. All except Shull interviewed with the Columbia Missourian. Fleming worked with the Missouri State Public Defender System for over two decades. In addition to his work, he was active with the Missouri 4-H program and Relay for Life. In his interview, he said his work as a prosecutor set him apart from his opponents. Gibbs had been a partner with Rotts & Gibbs since 2000. He told the Missourian that the mix of civil and criminal work over his career was a good fit for the blend he would come across as a Division 5 judge. Shaw had been an assistant public defender in the 13th Judicial Circuit, and worked in other positions as an attorney for over 20 years. She specialized in death penalty jury trials and family and criminal law. Shaw previously faced off and lost against Bryson for his seat in the 2010 Democratic primary. In her pitch, she said that her experience in the region and in Bryson's court in particular made her a good fit for the seat. Whitworth worked as an attorney at Ford, Parshall, & Baker in Columbia. He told the Missourian he was qualified because of his experience with both plaintiffs and defendants, as well as his ability to be impartial and respectful. He also mentioned his experience with both civil and criminal cases. Shull maintained his own private practice in Columbia called Law Office of C. Douglas Shull. Bryson retired because of the state's mandatory retirement age of 70. He turned 67 in August, making him ineligible for a four-year term.

Missouri candidates profit off loans to their own campaigns July 17, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Big money in supreme court elections; local race decided by coin toss A Republican member of the Missouri State Senate was reportedly unhappy with political campaign lending practices in the state. As it stands, political candidates, including judicial candidates, may lend money to their campaigns and pay it back to themselves. The candidate may also set the interest rate. In the present election cycle, according to Missouri Ethics Commission records obtained by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 22 candidates for local or state offices had indicated they would repay loans to their campaigns with interest. Rates ranged from .01 percent to 9 percent. The highest annual interest rate of nine percent belonged to associate circuit judge candidate John Appelbaum, a lawyer who ran as a Democrat for the Division 10 position in the 23rd Circuit Court (Jefferson County). Last October, he made a $1,000 loan at that rate to his campaign. A sitting 23rd Circuit judge, Democrat Ray Dickhaner, loaned his campaign $2,000 in March at a one percent annual rate. Senator John Lamping (R) proposed an ethics bill in the last session calling for reform, but the bill died. His legislation called for a ban on rates higher than the 90-day treasury bill rate. He said that abuse was more common at the federal level, but that the state's current system provided "a way to legally money-launder your campaign account by lending yourself money and then paying it back way above market rate."

Disqualified Republican makes it onto the Butler County ballot at last minute July 3, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Election laws challenged After being disqualified from his judicial race, Carter County Prosecuting Attorney Rocky Kingree was back on the ballot. Kingree was the only Republican running for the Division 2 associate circuit judge seat in the 36th Circuit of Missouri. The circuit serves Butler and Ripley counties. Kingree was disqualified by Butler County Clerk Tonyi Deffendall because he did not meet a one-year residency requirement enacted in August 2013. However, Kingree, a resident of Van Buren, invoked the Missouri Constitution, which simply requires associate circuit judges to be residents of the county in which they preside. He said he planned to establish his residence in Butler County in time for the primary election on August 5. He was to be unopposed in that primary before facing incumbent Democratic Judge John Bloodworth in the November election. After a June 19 appellate court ruling in a separate case, heard by Joseph Ellis of the Western District, Kingree filed a petition to the 36th Circuit for a writ of mandamus and request for preliminary order. Ellis wrote in his ruling that "an election authority is not allowed to adjudicate election qualifications and is without authority to remove a citizen's name from the ballot." Citing that ruling, Kingree was able to get his name on the ballot. Because Presiding Judge Michael Pritchett recused himself, the supreme court appointed Judge Fred W. Copeland of the 34th Circuit in New Madrid County to hear the case. The court made its order at the last minute, because June 24 was exactly six weeks before the election – the deadline to make such a decision.

Candidate who dropped out of race to replace John Waters is denied re-entry--by Waters June 26, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Survival of the fittest as more candidates are eliminated It all began with the unfortunate death of Presiding Judge Mark Orr. He passed away at the beginning of June, while he was employed by Missouri's 38th Circuit Court (Christian and Taney counties). The Missouri Supreme Court then chose a retiring associate circuit judge, John S. Waters, to replace Orr on an interim basis. Since Waters, who had been an associate judge since 1999, was retiring, candidates filed to run for his seat in 2014. There were five Republican candidates – Laura Johnson, Patty Shilling, Doug Bacon, Ron Cleek and State Rep. Kevin Elmer. Elmer, who was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 2010, opted in January not to run for re-election to the legislature so that he could run for the judgeship instead. On June 10, in the wake of Orr's death, Elmer dropped out of the race and sought the Republican nomination to fill the new vacancy for Orr's position as circuit judge rather than for Waters' position as associate circuit judge. A special election to replace Orr, featuring the Republican and Democratic nominees, was held on November 4. Elmer cited his experience practicing law in the circuit court, explaining, "Most of my time practicing law has been in the circuit court than it has in the associate circuit court, it’s the type of courtroom that I’m more experienced in." He added: “ I hate to say how confident I am, but I was comfortable asking to take my name off the ballot. ” —Kevin Elmer The lead judge position also pays an extra $10,000; the salary is $127,000, compared to $116,858 for the associate judge position. To Elmer's surprise, however, his party's 13-member nominating committee chose someone else – Laura Johnson. Johnson, who had not dropped out of the associate judge race, nevertheless submitted her name for consideration for Orr's seat, saying people encouraged her to run. On June 17, the committee chose her over Elmer and the other applicant, Rodney Daniels. The Democratic Party nominated its own candidate for the special election. The winner vied for the rest of Orr's term, which would have ended in 2018. The turn of events was unfortunate for Elmer, who tried to re-enter the race for associate circuit judge. He asked Waters, now the interim circuit judge, to undo a court order allowing Elmer to withdraw his candidacy for that race. Waters denied Elmer's request to put his name back on the ballot. “ This was a case of a petitioner getting what he wanted, it was what he asked for, and then his plans went awry...I find it interesting that the legislature in its wisdom has provided a method to get out of a race, but not a method to get back in a race. ” —John S. Waters “ This (hearing) involved two separate options in life and I've got a thousand options in front of me. ” —Kevin Elmer None of those options included being on a legislative or judicial ballot in 2014. There was a Democratic candidate for the associate judge seat, but the party did not hold a primary election. The Republican primary took place on August 5 and was a three-way race between Cleek, Shilling and Bacon. The results are posted here.

Missouri Democratic candidates report contributions, reveal disparity April 24, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Primary match-ups across the nation In the campaign for Boone County, Missouri's Division 5 associate circuit judge seat, public defender Kimberly Shaw raised more in one day than her two primary opponents did for the quarter. Shaw filed documents with the Missouri Ethics Commission showing that she donated $10,000 of her own money to her campaign last Wednesday. One of her opponents, attorney Finley Gibbs, reported $6,300, including $1,000 of his own money and $5,000 from William Rotts, his law partner. Public defender Robert L. Fleming reported $2,105 for the first quarter of 2014. All three candidates ran as Democrats, and vied for the seat left open by Judge Larry Bryson, who retired after 28 years on the bench. The two Republicans who ran for the seat, Michael R. Whitworth and Doug Shull, had not had contributions to report, nor had they organized campaign committees. Shaw is an assistant public defender in the District 13 public defender’s office, while Fleming holds the same title in District 14. Gibbs is a partner at the law firm of Rotts & Gibbs. Whitworth practices with Ford, Parshall, & Baker, while his primary opponent Shull holds a practice at the Law Office of C. Douglas Shull. Boone County is presided over by the 13th Judicial Circuit Court.

Six-term incumbent facing two challengers March 27, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Women successful in judicial races as incumbents face challengers On the final day of filing, an incumbent judge was surprised when two new challengers joined the race. Keith Marquart, the Republican 5th division associate judge for the 5th Circuit in Missouri, was challenged by David Peppard, a Democrat, and another candidate. Marquart was appointed to the 5th Circuit in 1989. He was elected in 1990 and re-elected in 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010. Peppard is an attorney who received his J.D. from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law in 1992. Along with having a private practice, Peppard was an assistant city attorney for St. Joseph. “ Political offices aren't entitlements, and I think of this campaign as being a big, long job interview. ” —David Peppard Marquart ran on his record and his administration of justice so far on the court. He emphasized his experience collecting child support, which accounts for 40 percent of his weekly docket. The name of the other Democratic challenger was unavailable at press time.

Missouri legislator, county prosecutor to battle for associate judgeship March 13, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Close races, scandal and removal from the ballot Two candidates filed to run for the seat of retiring Pettis County Associate Judge Robert M. Liston, including a Missouri state legislator. County Prosecutor Jeff Mittelhauser was the first to file for the Division 6 seat. Opposing Mittelhauser was Stanley Cox, a member of the Missouri House, representing District 52. Mittelhauser was a prosecutor in the Pettis County Prosecutor’s Office for 28 years and was an assistant for four years before that. Regarding the judgeship, he said, “ It has been a goal of mine for a long time…I think any trial lawyer pictures himself or herself as a judge. ” Cox was also a prosecutor for the county from 1979 to 1982, and had worked in private practice. He was elected to the House in 2006. When announcing his candidacy for the judgeship last September, he stated, “ I feel that this is a good opportunity to continue in public service to the people of Pettis County. ” Cox and Mittelhauser faced each other for the 18th Circuit bench in a Republican primary election, which took place on August 5.

State legislator, three others vie for associate circuit bench March 6, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Texas primary recap, election funding and participation A state representative sought to take off his legislative hat and don a robe instead. Missouri Representative Kevin Elmer (R) ran for associate circuit judge in Christian County. The Republican legislator of the City of Nixa served District 139 and was elected to the House in 2010. He did not seek re-election to that seat. Elmer sought to replace Judge John S. Waters, who retired at the end of his term in December 2014. Waters became a judge for the court in 1999. Elmer said, “With my boys still being the age they are and an opportunity to go back home and enter a public service role such as judge and be at home year round, I think that serves both my family and the community.” Laura Johnson, of Ozark, Michael Hope, of Nixa, and Clayton Jones, who challenged Elmer for his House seat in 2012, also ran in the Republican primary, which took place August 5. The general election took place on November 4. Hope described himself as a “common worker,” while Jones, also from Nixa, described himself as a retired businessman and former commander of the National Military Order of the Purple Heart. Johnson is an attorney who practices with Ellis, Ellis, Hammons and Johnson, P.C. Elmer had sparked controversy for public statements and bills he had supported. He sponsored a bill tripling the wait time for an abortion to 72 hours, and he took to Twitter to call out Nixa’s schools after high school students wore Gay-Straight Alliance t-shirts. He caused a storm by referring to them as “gay t-shirts.” “Obviously, when you’re running for judge it’s a lot different than running for rep. You don’t have to run on issues,” Elmer said. Elmer issued a press release in which he noted he is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Kansas City and had been a member of the Missouri Bar Association since 2000.

See also

• Missouri judicial elections
• Judicial selection in Missouri

External links

• Missouri Secretary of State, "Elections"

Footnotes

Missouri courts

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Federal courts:

Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Missouri, Western District of Missouri • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Missouri, Western District of Missouri

State courts:

Missouri Supreme Court • Missouri Court of Appeals • Missouri Circuit Courts • Missouri Municipal Courts

State resources:

Courts in Missouri • Missouri judicial elections • Judicial selection in Missouri