Columbia sends new faces to Jeff City

All three House members are Democrats, and its senator is now a Republican.

By Erin Gregory

Published Nov. 5, 2008

No Columbia incumbents will be returning to the General Assembly next year.

In the 19th Senate District, Democratic incumbent Chuck Graham and Republican Kurt Schaefer battled for the seat. In a race that came down to the wire, Schaefer won the seat by a little more than 400 votes.

"It's been a bittersweet night," Schaefer said. "We lost some other very good people along the way."

Republican 24th District incumbent Rep. Ed Robb was defeated by Chris Kelly, a former representative from the district.

Democrat Mary Still won the 25th District seat, which was left vacant by Judy Baker's unsuccessful bid for the 9th Congressional District.

And Democrat Stephen Webber ran unopposed in the 23rd District race.

Graham served four terms in the Missouri House of Representatives representing the 24th District. As a co-author of the student curator bill, Graham has made that piece of legislation a cornerstone of his campaign along with his promise of support for MU.

In his campaign, Schaefer criticized Graham for his drunken driving conviction he received in October 2007. Schaefer also accused Graham of changing his position on policy issues. As a moderate Republican, Schaefer's platform focused on promoting greener energy policy and environmental protection.

"We've got a lot of work cut out," he said. "We're going to make those hard decisions and make this district the best Senate district in the state of Missouri."

Including Graham's lost, Republicans picked up two Senate seats, giving the GOP a 22-12 majority in that chamber.

In the 25th District, which encompasses a large portion of the MU campus, Still defeated Republican candidate Ryan Asbridge by nearly 30 percent.

"I was honored to vote in such an overwhelming election," Still said. "It's humbling. I'm looking forward to getting to work representing the 25th District in Jeff City."

The campaign was characterized by little conflict between the candidates. Asbridge, despite his party affiliation, campaigned on a relatively liberal platform.

In early September, Asbridge was called to active duty as a U.S. Navy Intelligence Officer. He elected to stay in the race, leaving the day-to-day activities of his campaign to his friends and campaign volunteers.

Kelly's victory over Robb by a margin of 400 votes in the 24th district marks the end of the most expensive race for the state House in Missouri history.

Robb was one of just a few Republican-held seats that changed hands on Tuesday. Republicans maintained their majority in the House, though the final numbers were not clear at press time.

Kelly, who held the 24th District seat from 1982 to 1994, served on the Budget Committee during his tenure in the Capitol.

He said his economic policy experience was one of the reasons to elect him.

"I sat in on every budget meeting," Kelly said. "No representative has ever done that."

Kelly put special emphasis on advocating bipartisanship and efficiency in state government. After his victory became official, Kelly said he would work to change the General Assembly conducts itself.

"We have to be more willing to hear everyone's voice," Kelly said. "People understand that they have to come together."

Robb has held the 24th District seat since 2004, serving on the Budget and Education committees during his time in Jefferson City.

Republican Steve Hobbs was reelected to the 21st District House seat. Some of the 21st District is in Boone County, though very few students live in that district.

— Staff writers Andrea Kszystyniak and Josh Barone contributed to this report.