Know Your Ballot: Statewide Races, U.S. Senate
The election is just two weeks from tomorrow. Before getting into statewide races, a recap of the posts starting at the bottom of the ballot:
Some of the statewide races have gotten nasty as we get closer to November 8th. Candidates from both major parties have been making accusations about their opponents. How do we know what to believe?
Thankfully we can look to PolitiFact Missouri for help distinguishing fact from fiction:
PolitiFact Missouri is a partnership of the University of Missouri School of Journalism and PolitiFact.com, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Web site of the Tampa Bay Times, to help you find the truth in politics.
Every day, reporters and researchers examine statements by Missouri elected officials and candidates and anyone else who speaks up on matters of public importance. We research their statements and then rate the accuracy on our Truth-O-Meter:
TRUE – The statement is accurate and there’s nothing significant missing.
MOSTLY TRUE – The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information.
HALF TRUE – The statement is partially accurate but leaves out important details or takes things out of context.
MOSTLY FALSE – The statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression.
FALSE – The statement is not accurate.
PANTS ON FIRE – The statement is not accurate and makes a ridiculous claim.
See their latest here.
Missouri has voted for the GOP presidential candidate every election since 1980 — with the exceptions of Bill Clinton in 1992 & 1996. However, Missouri’s relatively conservative Democrats have remained competitive in statewide races. This election is no exception.
Because these races are so close I’ll be voting for the Democrat in most, exceptions noted below. I’ve linked to websites/social media controlled by the candidates, if found in a search.
FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL
- TERESA HENSLEY – DEM
- JOSH HAWLEY – REP
FOR STATE TREASURER
- JUDY BAKER – DEM
- ERIC SCHMITT – REP
- SEAN O’TOOLE – LIB
- CAROL HEXEM – GRN
FOR SECRETARY OF STATE
- ROBIN SMITH – DEM
- JOHN [JAY] ASHCROFT – REP
- CHRIS MORRILL – LIB
FOR LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR
- RUSS CARNAHAN – DEM
- MIKE PARSON – REP
- STEVEN R. HEDRICK – LIB
- JENNIFER LEACH – GRN
FOR GOVERNOR — see RealClearPolitics polling data on this race
- CHRIS KOSTER – DEM — PolitiFact
- ERIC GREITENS – REP — PolitiFact
- CISSE W. SPRAGINS – LIB
- DON FITZ – GRN (If it looks like Greitens will lose, I’ll vote Green Party to help with future ballot access)
- LESTER BENTON [LES] TURILLI, JR. – IND
FOR UNITED STATES SENATOR — this closely watched race could impact which major party controls the U.S. Senate, see RealClearPolitics polling.
- JASON KANDER – DEM
- ROY BLUNT – REP — PolitiFact
- JONATHAN DINE – LIB
- FRED RYMAN – CST
- JOHNATHAN McFARLAND – GRN
In two weeks I’ll post on the race at the top of the ballot — the presidential race.
— Steve Patterson