Latest entries in Politics Watch
Political updates from Columbia, Jeff City and Washington by The Maneater's political reporters.
Nov. 2, 2010
Boone County is lone county trending toward Carnahan for US Senate
After numerous news outlets have called Missouri's U.S. Senate race for Republican Roy Blunt in the last hour, Boone County remains the only Missouri county trending in favor of Democrat Robin Carnahan. The trailing candidate and Missouri secretary of state has a slim 47.7 to 47.2 percent lead in Boone County but is trailing to Blunt by a 62 to 32 percent margin with just more than half of the state's precincts reporting.
Luetkemeyer Wins Election
Republican incumbent Blaine Luetkemeyer has successfully won his 2nd term as U.S. House Representative from the 9th District of Missouri. Luetkemeyer beat libertarian candidate Chris Dwyer, and considers the election a return to what the people want.
"We're excited because not only have we won tonight but a lot of the races we were working on here in the district have won," Luetkemeyer said. "A lot of the races around the country are going our way. It looks like we’re going to be in the majority so its been a good night."
Luetkemeyer stated that the country can now take a right turn, and become governed by basic Republican principles.
"We have to go back to governing the way we should, which is by the Constitution and the good, sound, Conservative, fiscal principles of budgeting," Luetkemeyer said. "We’re excited about going back to D.C. and start straightening out this mess."
Kelly leads Nauser by 15 points, MU students show support
With 12 percent of precincts reporting in, Kelly leads Nauser 57 percent to 42 percent. Despite a calming down of the watch party, Kelly and his supporters remain happy and confident about the campaign.
Stephen Webber, the democratic 23 district state representative candidate, stopped by Kelly's watch party to show his support along with some MU students who attended Webber's watch party a few blocks away.
"There are a number of reasons that I support Kelly, one of which is that he fought for Mizzou to prevent budget cuts and he is not overly partisan or ideological, which makes him a valuable member to have (in the House)," student and supporter Greg Young said.
Post-Dispatch and KC Star declare Blunt winner of US Senate race
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Kansas City Star report Republican candidate Roy Blunt the victor in the race for U.S. Senate. Blunt has defeated Democratic candidate and current Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan in the election. The Associated Press called the election for Blunt around 9:10 p.m. Tuesday.
According to the Secretary of State's website, 41.5 percent of precincts have reported their results.
St. Louis County has reported in favor of Blunt. Boone County has reported in favor of Carnahan. St. Louis City and Kansas City have yet to report their results.
For more up-to-date information on election totals, visit The Maneater's election page.
Students cite Prop B, Senate Race as reasons for votes
According to students who were interviewed after voting on Tuesday, the most important issues on the ballot were Proposition B regarding puppy mills, the mid-term elections for Senators and Propositions regarding taxes.
“I feel empowered to vote,” Kat Seal said. “It’s important for college kids to vote because we are the constituents of Columbia, so if we want our voices heard, if we want to be radical and make a difference, we need to show the representatives that we are voting and that we do care.”
Six of the eight students polled cited puppy mills as one of the most important issues on Tuesday’s ballot.
“I agree that there should be more focus on those that are breeding dogs, and there should be more restrictions on them.” Shajuanda Campbell said.
Jennifer Hawkins shared Campbell’s sentiment.
“The only one that pretty much caught my attention was the one about the animals, I feel like it’s really important that animals get adequate food, water and shelter,” Hawkins said.
Not all students believed Proposition B was the right choice for their vote. Ashleigh Voellinger said she didn’t vote for Proposition B because she heard that it was going to be used as a stepping stone to regulate other agricultural issues. As a participant in the rodeo, Voellinger said she was worried how Proposition B would affect rodeo down the road.
Steven Young said the Senate race, Proposition B and municipal tax amendments were all important aspects of why he voted.
“I voted against Prop B because I don’t think we need more government regulating all the aspects of business, and I voted against the municipal tax increase because I don’t think right now is the time to be raising taxes on anyone,” Young said.
Travis McCartney, a political science major, said balancing out Congress and securing enough money for the government through taxes were two of the reasons he voted Tuesday.
“We’re not going to get our country out of debt if we keep cutting taxes,” McCartney said. “If the government has no money, then essentially we have no money either.”
In the Senate, Democrat Robin Carnahan, Republican Roy Blunt, Libertarian Jonathon Dine and Constitutionalist Jerry Beck squared off.
“Obviously the Senate race was probably most important,” Young said. “I really loathe and despise both major candidates for Senate, I voted Libertarian.”
McCartney said that he voted for Carnahan because of the things she has done well as Secretary of State. Overall, students polled seemed enthusiastic about casting their vote on Election Day.
Prop B vote too close to call; "No" vote leads for Prop 2
A "Yes" vote on Proposition B, the ballot measure that would bar dog breeders from housing more than 50 dogs at a single kennel, is leading by a slim margin with 15 percent of precincts reporting. The "Yes" option has 52 percent of the vote as the "No" is taking 47 percent.
With 22 percent of precincts reporting, a "No" vote on Proposition 2, the ballot measure that makes Taser use a misdemeanor in Columbia, is leading with 74 percent.
Click here to view election results at the Boone County Clerk's website.
AP calls US Senate race for Blunt
The Associated Press has called the U.S. Senate election in favor of Roy Blunt. The AP reports Republican candidate Roy Blunt has defeated Democratic Secretary of State Robin Carnahan in the race.
The election is being called after 29.9 percent of precincts are reported.
According to the secretary of state's website, Blunt has received 63 percent of votes so far while Carnahan received 31.1 percent.
Webber arrives at watch party
Stephen Webber, Democrat incumbent, supporters and campaign workers anticipate the election results at The Blue Note downtown. The venue is crowded as Webber awaits the results for the race against Republican Paul Szopa.
Blunt holds 61% of US Senate vote with 20% of precincts reporting
With 20.8 percent of precincts reporting, Republican Roy Blunt currently leads the polls in the race for U.S. Senate with 61.8 percent of votes over Democrat Robin Carnahan's 32.6 percent.
Boone County reports 48.2 percent for Blunt and 47.5 percent for Carnahan. Kansas City and St. Louis County are not yet reporting.
Click here to view the results as they progress at the secretary of state's website.
Luetkemeyer Confident About Election Results
Republican Blaine Luetkemeyer is celebrating election outcomes at the Courtyard Marriot, surrounded by his family, friends, and campaign members. Luetkemeyer, who is favored to beat Libertarian candidate Chris Dwyer, announced to the members of the viewing party that change was coming.
"The winds of change are blowing", Luetkemeyer said.
Luetkemeyer also stated that the election served as a critical turning point in marking a shift of Congressional power from Democrats to Republicans.
"Tonight we pushed Liberalism back and took the first steps to taking our country back," Luetkemeyer said.
Luetkemeyer ended his first speech by declaring his pride of America.
