Dems AG race ends
The race that political analysts expected to be close became a nail-biter, as candidates for Missouri's attorney general race were up for grabs until all precincts reported just after midnight.
A margin of 852 votes separated State Sen. Chris Koster, D-Harrisonville, the Democratic nominee for Attorney General, from his closest competitor, State Rep. Margaret Donnelly.
Democratic contenders for the attorney general's race fought until well after midnight, as results for Boone, St. Louis and Christian counties returned slowly. Koster claimed victory with 34.3 percent of the vote statewide.
The attorney general primary was marked by its' advertisement, from the perspectives of each Democratic candidate. Koster stressed his own experience in the Senate and his experience in the courtroom as Cass County prosecutor as credentials for his campaign in television advertisements, while defending his positions alongside his voting records to a Democratic party with relatively low voter turnout.
Koster drew national attention after he "crossed the aisle" in party politics from Republican to Democrat when he decided to run for Attorney General. This move left him open to varied assessments of his voting record and stances from his opponents.
State Rep. Margaret Donnelly, a St. Louis native, is a third-term Missouri representative and the ranking Democrat on the House Budget Committee. Donnelly won 34 percent of the votes statewide, while capturing 50.5 percent of votes in St. Louis County, where she owns her own law practice.
Donnelly's criticisms of Koster were most frequently levied at his ethics in fundraising, and specifically his acceptance of financing from donors her campaign labeled as from "Republican deal-makers" in a press release. She also claimed, through her campaign, that her opponent Koster attempted to purchase his candidacy, rather than earn it from voters.
Jeff Harris, former House Minority Leader, also competed in the Democratic Attorney General's Race. Harris, well known for his roots in Columbia, showed high returns in Boone County, where he took 69.5 percent of the vote. Koster, his closest competitor in the county won 14.4 percent of the vote in the state.
Harris spent part of his time emphasizing his Internet fundraising strategy, which mirrors the grasp on new media presidential candidates have grappled with during the most recent campaign to boster fundraising through grass roots efforts. His actual campaign tactics were based on marketing his ties to areas like Columbia and focusing on Koster's ties to Republican party mainstays.
Koster will face Senate President Pro Tem Michael Gibbons in the general election.