Incumbents dominated state legislature seats across mid-Missouri counties on Tuesday. Voters largely defended the seats of the Republican-controlled legislature throughout the region.
Here are the results from the districts surrounding Boone County:
Kent Haden wins as State Representative for District 43
Incumbent Kent Haden (R) defeated Erik Richardson (D) to represent parts of Callaway, Audrain and Monroe counties. Haden is chairman of the Healthcare Reform Committee, has served since 2019 and does not plan to run again after this term.
Haden said that agriculture and healthcare reform are the key issues that he hopes to tackle this term.
“Rural Missouri is in a healthcare crisis,” Haden (R) said. “There are several things on the board that could drastically help healthcare in the state of Missouri if we could do them. Those are things that we’ll be striving to get done.”
Haden (R) received 78% of the vote while Richardson (D) received 22%.
KBIA reached out to the Richardson campaign but did not receive a response.
Jim Schulte wins as State Representative for District 49
Incumbent Jim Schulte (R) defeated Jessica O’Neal-Slisz (D) to represent Callaway county. Schulte has served in the state house since January of 2023.
O’Neal-Slisz (D) is not discouraged by the defeat and said she plans to run again.
“I’m gonna run again next cycle too, and I’m hoping that more people will pay attention to who they voted for,” O’Neal-Slisz (D) said. “We vote for people because of an R or D behind their name and we’re not paying attention to how they’re actually voting in the interests of us.”
Schulte (R) received 73% of the vote and O’Neal Slisz (D) received 27%.
KBIA reached out to the Schulte campaign but did not receive a response.
Tim Taylor wins as State Representative for District 48
Incumbent Tim Taylor (R) won state representative for District 48 over Joe Jefferies (D) late Tuesday night. District 48 encompasses Randolph, Howard, Cooper and Chariton counties. Taylor managed to get majority votes in Howard, Chariton and Cooper county, having 75% of the unofficial vote at 11:28 p.m Tuesday. Other counties’ votes led to Taylor’s ultimate win with 77 percent starting his third two-year term.
Joe Jefferies said this outcome was in line with his team’s expectations and he is grateful to voters and people of the district. He also said he was proud to bring a progressive platform to rural Missouri.
“Talking about things like expanding access to mental health and substance use treatment, protecting rural public education, promoting common-sense firearm legislation, promoting policies that will limit or reduce the impacts of climate change on our district and on our state,” Jefferies said. “Which is something I think, you know, it requires a lot of bravery, and it requires a fresh perspective to be able to come into a place like the 48th with that type of a platform.”
Jefferies is also proud to see the performance of Amendment 3 and Prop A in the district. In District 48, 45% of Randolph, 43.4% of Howard, 45.9% of Cooper and 41.5% of Chariton voted yes on Proposition A. As for Amendment 3, 42% of Randolph, 42.2% of Howard, 41.8% of Cooper and 34.5% of Chariton voted yes.
He said this trend toward the 40s in these topics shows an opportunity for Democrats to have better communication with voters.
“Whenever we remove the R or D from a policy issue, we can really see that the voters are open to the type of message that Democrats bring and that progressives bring. It's just really us figuring out how do we communicate that better,” Jefferies said.
Jefferies said he and his team are looking forward to 2026 and focusing on building a better understanding between parties.
“How can we help each other to see that we have more in common than we have apart? That way we can really help to advance that change in Jefferson City and in the state of Missouri that we all want to see,” Jeffries said.
Taylor has been in office since 2020. Before his legislative career, Taylor had a long career in the Columbia Fire Department.
KBIA attempted to reach out to Tim Taylor for comment but has yet to receive a response.
Ed Lewis wins as State Representative for District 6
Republican incumbent Ed Lewis won state representative for District 6 in a landslide victory over Democrat John Akins.
Lewis was first elected in 2020 and will now begin his third term as the representative for Randolph, Macon, and Linn Counties in the Missouri House of Representatives. Lewis worked as a high school educator for 32 years and is closely involved in issues related to education, rural communities, and budget.
Lewis (R) received 78.5% of the votes, while John Akins (D) received 21.5%.
KBIA contacted Lewis and Akins for comment but has yet to receive a response.
Kurtis Gregory wins as State Senator for District 21
Republican incumbent Kurtis Gregory was elected to the Missouri Senate for the 21st district over Democrat Jim Bates. Gregory currently serves on the Missouri House of Representatives for the 51st District.
Gregory (R) received 69.3% of the votes, while Bates (D) received 30.7%.
The 21st District includes Howard, Cooper, Saline, Lafayette, Ray and parts of Clay County. Denny Hoskins currently serves these counties but will hand over his seat to Gregory at the end of his term in 2025.
Bates stated he knew it would be a tough race, but has a lot of respect for Gregory.
“My next goal is to get involved more in Democratic Party politics,” Bates said. “To make sure we are actually putting forth the effort to get candidates elected in Missouri.”
In an email to KBIA, Gregory said he was pleased with how the election turned out for him.
