Aug 4 primary — in plain English
For Cole County jobs (commissioner, clerk, judges, etc.), no Democrat filed. Whoever wins the Republican primary basically gets the job. You also vote on four statewide constitutional questions and (if you live in the city) Jeff City Prop 1.
This page uses blue → red for liberal → conservative (not just D/R), puts a clear Stance: label on each position we know, and marks faith / abortion, guns, and crime with emoji (see legend).
How to read this page
Color = views, not party card. Same party can span the bar.
✝️ pro-Christian / pro-life
😈 anti-Christian framing / pro-choice
pro-gun / 2A
☮️ gun control / anti-gun expansion
🔒 tough on crime
🕊️ soft / lenient on crime
symbol? uncertain (small corner mark) — not a solid hit
Stance chips always start with what the person did or said (e.g. “Stance: Voted NO on Amendment 5”). Click a person for the longer story. Faith notes get a gold box when religion is relevant.
Amendment 1 — Parks & soil tax
Keep the existing tiny sales tax that funds free state parks and soil/water programs.
Not a new tax · ~$140 million/year · renews for 10 years
YES Center
Keep the 0.1% tax going
Parks stay free; farmers keep soil/water cost-share money. Last passed with ~80% in 2016.
Stance: Renew parks/soil tax
NO Cons
Stop renewing this dedicated tax
Force parks/conservation to fight for money in the regular budget like everything else.
Stance: Let dedicated tax expire
Best case for YES
Cheap, popular, keeps parks free and soil programs working. Continuation only — rate stays the same.Best case against
Sales taxes hit lower incomes harder; earmarks lock up money forever.Best case for NO
No permanent carve-outs; legislature should prioritize yearly.Best case against
Parks maintenance and farm soil programs lose a stable pot voters have backed for decades.Amendment 2 — Elect tax assessors
Make every charter county (including Jackson County / Kansas City area) elect the person who sets property values.
Little direct effect on Cole County day-to-day. It’s a statewide rule change aimed at Jackson County property-tax fights.
Stance YES · accountability
Voters should pick the person whose numbers drive property tax bills.Stance NO · caution
Electing assessors can push them to lowball values to win votes; Jackson already changed its local charter.Amendment 4 — Harder for citizen ballot measures
Citizen changes to the state constitution would need a majority in every U.S. House district, not just statewide.
Lawmakers’ own amendments would still need only a simple statewide majority. Past citizen wins (marijuana, sports betting, abortion rights, Medicaid expansion) likely would have failed this rule.
YES Hard C
✝️
Rural/small districts can block big-city majorities on the constitution.
Stance: All 8 districts must approve citizen amendments
Stance: Limit out-of-state ballot power
NO Lib
😈
One small district could veto what most of the state wants.
Stance: Keep statewide majority only
Stance: Same bar for voters as for politicians
Faith / culture note: Many conservatives back Am 4 after citizen amendments legalized abortion and recreational marijuana. This is less “church doctrine” and more “who rewrites the constitution.” Marker ✝️ = often supported by pro-life / traditional-values groups, but the text itself is about voting rules, not religion.
Best case for YES
Geographic buy-in so St. Louis/KC can’t rewrite the constitution alone. Rural voice. Farm Bureau–style argument.Best case against
Minority veto. Politicians keep the easy path. Realtors and “Respect MO Voters” say it’s a power grab.Best case for NO
Protect majority rule and citizen initiatives. No other state uses this all-district rule.Best case against
Lets urban majorities pass culture-war amendments rural counties reject every time.Amendment 5 — End income tax, grow sales tax
Phase out the state income tax as money comes in; let lawmakers expand sales taxes to replace it. Local rates must drop if sales tax haul rises (schools protected).
This is the tax fight dominating Jeff City candidate forums. The ballot does not set the future sales-tax rate — that comes later in the legislature.
YES Hard C
Constitutional path to zero income tax (Kehoe priority).
Stance: Kill state income tax over time
Stance: Allow broader sales/use taxes
NO Lean L / populist R
Reject an open-ended tax swap. Many local Republicans are also skeptical.
Stance: No blank check on sales-tax base
Stance: Want a clear rate/plan first
Best case for YES
More take-home pay; compete with no-income-tax states; you control burden by spending less.Best case against
Shifts tax load toward middle class & seniors via broader sales tax; rates/base unknown on the ballot.Best case for NO
Don’t rewrite the constitution until the swap math is public. Protect fixed incomes.Best case against
Misses a lock-in for income-tax elimination; leaves Missouri’s tax brand unchanged.Jeff City Prop 1 — City capital sales tax
Keep the city’s existing ½% sales tax for roads, public safety buildings, parks, and other capital projects (2027–2037).
Stance YES
Continue funding streets & city infrastructure; visitors help pay.Stance NO
Stop stacking sales taxes; force harder priorities or project-by-project votes.Circuit Judge Div. 3 — serious trials
This is the big local judge race. Handles murders, major felonies, and many statewide lawsuits filed in the capital.
Crime data honesty: Missouri does not publish a simple “this judge’s average sentence” chart. Below are real reported cases, not bar-association scorecards. Walker’s sex-crime sample is hard 🔒. The fight over him is mostly about political lawsuits, not street-crime softness.
| Cotton Walker (now) | Jeff Suddy | |
|---|---|---|
| Job history | Judge for years (city, associate, circuit) | Prosecutor at AG’s office · no time as judge |
| Years as lawyer | 30+ | ~4–5 |
| Crime sentences we can document | Life; 60 years; other hard sex sentences 🔒 | N/A as judge · SVP commitment as prosecutor 🔒 |
| Why he’s in the news | Rulings that angered some GOP leaders | Running as “apply the law as written” |
Cotton Walker NOW IN OFFICE Lean C / mixed
🔒🔒 ✝️
Republican ballot · earlier career as Democrat prosecutor in the 1990s
Trial judge · drug/DWI/mental-health/veterans courts
Hands out long prison terms in sex cases; also runs treatment courts; rules against both parties in political cases.
Stance (crime): Life sentence · Owens child molestation 🔒
Stance (crime): 60 years · Smith rape/molestation 🔒
Stance (courts): Runs treatment courts (not pure lock-em-up)
Stance (politics): Fixed “unfair” abortion-amendment ballot wording
Stance (politics): Kept marijuana measure on ballot (standing)
Stance (guns): No clear 2A platform found ?
Jeff Suddy Hard C
🔒 ✝️
Republican · Air Force veteran · AG’s office
Special prosecutor · never been a judge
Sells law-and-order + “don’t invent law from the bench.” Thin résumé for a murder-court seat.
Stance (crime): SVP civil commitment win (Miller) as prosecutor 🔒
Stance (philosophy): Apply statutes as written · no legislating from bench
Stance (identity): Lifelong Republican · military discipline brand
Stance (life/guns): No detailed personal platform found ?
Who he is
Longtime local lawyer and judge. Won circuit seat 2020 in a big Republican primary. Campaign site stresses law & order and long sentences when warranted.
Real criminal cases (reported)
| Person | Year | What happened | Walker did |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gary Owens | 2026 | Child molestation (plea) | Life in prison 🔒 (max; defense wanted 10 yrs) |
| Dean Jason Smith | 2024 | Rape / child sex crimes (plea) | 60 years 🔒 |
| David Gene Lee | 2021 | Sexual abuse (prior SO) | 13 years prison 🔒 |
| Cody Umfleet | 2022 | Resisting arrest (lower felony) | 2 years |
Political cases that made Republicans mad
| Case | What he ruled |
|---|---|
| MoDOT pay scales | Highway commission could set pay without the legislature’s preferred leash |
| KKK-linked candidate on ballot | GOP could not yank him after the fact · upheld on appeal |
| Marijuana legalization | Challenger had no standing · measure stayed on ballot |
| Abortion amendment ballot language | Said SOS wording was unfair/misleading · ordered fixes |
✝️ / 😈 faith & life note: Walker’s abortion-ballot ruling is the main “culture war” flashpoint. Pro-life activists often saw ballot-language fights as stacking the deck for the pro-choice amendment (😈 from that view). Walker framed it as enforcing fair wording, not endorsing abortion. He is not documented as a soft-on-sex-crime judge — the opposite in the cases we have. In 2025 a House leader tried to restructure his seat after these political fights.
Best case for Walker
Proven judge. Documented hard sentences on predators 🔒. Appeals courts often backed him. Knows the full docket including treatment courts.Best case against
Old Democrat prosecutor history. Civil rulings that blocked GOP priorities. If you want a reliably culture-war-aligned capital judge, he may not be your guy.Who he is
Air Force refueling veteran; law school 2021; works for the state Attorney General as a special prosecutor. Campaign: integrity, accountability, public safety, apply the law as written.
What we can document (as a prosecutor, not a judge)
| Case | Role | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Calvin Miller SVP | Trial counsel for AG | Jury found sexually violent predator · civil commitment 🔒 |
| Appellate AG work | Counsel on captions | Defends state positions on appeal |
✝️ faith note: Suddy markets military virtue, family, and “community values.” He has not published a detailed abortion/theology platform we found. Do not invent a church endorsement that isn’t public.
Best case for Suddy
Combat vet + active prosecutor who puts dangerous sex offenders away 🔒. Clear “no activist judge” pitch for the capital bench.Best case against
Only a few years as a lawyer. Never been a judge. “Tough” is from the prosecutor’s side — we have no sentencing record of his own.Circuit Judge Div. 2 — Daniel Green
Presiding judge of the local circuit. No opponent. Handles big constitutional fights as well as ordinary cases.
Daniel Green NOW Institutional / mixed
🔒 ✝️
Long-time judge. Public record is heavy on government-power cases, light on street-crime stats.
Stance: Struck down some COVID local health orders
Stance: Struck AG-only appeal power · access to courts
Stance: Rewrote unfair ballot summaries (both directions over time)
Stance (crime bulk): No public average-sentence chart ?
Best case
Experienced capital-bench judge who checks every branch when he thinks they overreach.Best case against
Denied Ryan Ferguson a new trial in 2012 (conviction later thrown out on other grounds) — innocence advocates still cite it.Associate Judge Div. 6 — Joseph Shetler
Lower-level trial judge: first appearances, bonds, many smaller cases. Appointed 2024. No opponent.
Joseph Shetler NOW Cons
🔒
Estate/probate lawyer background. Early violent-case bond calls: keep them locked up.
Stance (bond): Denied bond · domestic shooting (Davis) 🔒
Stance (bond): Danger-to-community holds on violent cases 🔒
Stance: Found murder defendant incompetent → treatment path (legal rule, not “soft”)
Best case
Hard bond decisions on violent defendants 🔒. Local lawyer who knows probate/guardian work (big part of associate court).Best case against
Barely two years on the bench. Not a career prosecutor.Presiding Commissioner — county boss seat
Top county board job: budget, jail, buildings, spokesmanship. Open seat. Republican primary decides it.
Live problems: jail/courthouse overcrowding; county spent big money housing inmates elsewhere. Both candidates say no new county taxes.
Mike Bernskoetter Cons
✝️ 🔒
R · term-limited state senator · pest-control business · Helias
Capitol veteran with money and name ID. Wants state help for capital-city court costs.
Stance: No county tax hikes · balance budget
Stance: Voted to put Am 5 on the ballot
Stance: Jail/courthouse if numbers work without new taxes
Stance (life): Opposed citizen Am 3 abortion legalization ✝️
Stance: Past bills on sick leave / wage rules (business side)
Paul Dupuis Lean C · outsider
✝️ 🔒
R · chiropractor · police personnel board · Helias · never held office
“Run government like a business.” Wants capital projects done before costs explode.
Stance: Don’t delay jail/juvenile projects
Stance: Skeptical of Am 5 unless health care exempt from new sales tax
Stance: State should pay its share of courthouse load
Stance (life/guns): No detailed public scorecard found ?
✝️ faith note: Helias Catholic High School alum; longtime local Catholic community ties. Publicly opposed the 2024 abortion legalization amendment (Am 3) — ✝️ pro-life position. Claims that he “caused” Am 3 are false (that was a citizen initiative).
Best case
Knows how to get state money and pass budgets. Local business owner for decades. Ready on day one.Best case against
Career politician switching offices. Jail problem still unsolved after years in the Capitol.✝️ faith note: Helias alum; no detailed public theology platform found. Don’t invent one.
Best case
Not part of the Capitol class. Hands-on small business + police board. Focus on finishing projects.Best case against
Never run a government budget this size. Far behind on fundraising and name ID.County Clerk — elections & records
Runs elections, keeps county records. Not a “policy” job — it’s operations. Open seat.
Jeff Ahlers Cons
✝️
R · city council · 10+ years as election worker · Central Dairy retiree · Knights of Columbus
The elections-operations candidate.
Stance: Keep experienced election staff
Stance: Raise clerk-staff pay toward peer counties
Stance: Hands-on poll operations experience
Dave Griffith Cons
✝️ 🔒
R · state rep (term-limited) · Green Beret · ex-TV · Red Cross ED
The public-figure / communicator candidate.
Stance: Modernize how clerk talks to voters
Stance: Multi-term House Republican voting record ✝️
Stance: Support staff pay catch-up
Stance: No years as election judge like Ahlers ?
✝️ faith note: Immaculate Conception parish; Wardsville Knights of Columbus — public Catholic civic life. No separate abortion questionnaire found for the clerk race (office doesn’t set abortion policy).
Best case
Clerk is a process job. He’s already done election-judge/supervisor work for a decade.Best case against
Less fame and money than Griffith. Shorter time as an elected official.✝️ / faith & guns: As a multi-term Republican House member he has been part of the caucus that advances pro-life and pro-2A legislation. Veterans’ committee leadership. Exact bill-by-bill scorecards vary by year — treat as standard MO GOP House profile ✝️ .
Best case
Special Forces + nonprofit + House experience. Can explain elections to the public.Best case against
Clerk isn’t the legislature. Ahlers has more pure elections-ops time.Unopposed Cole County jobs
Still on the ballot. No Democrat filed. These people take the job.
| Job | Who | In plain English |
|---|---|---|
| Circuit Clerk | Mark Eichholz | Court paperwork & records |
| Recorder | Judy K. Ridgeway | Land deeds & property records |
| Prosecutor | Locke Thompson | Charges crimes · tries cases 🔒 (role is prosecution) |
| Collector | Larry Vincent | Collects property taxes |
| Auditor | Jay Moore | Appointed 2025 · watches county money · tight budget messaging |
State Auditor — watchdog for state money
Audits government waste and books. Primary winners go to the November general election.
Scott Fitzpatrick NOW Cons
✝️
Incumbent. Former Treasurer & House budget chair.
Stance: Waste / fraud / transparency audits
Stance: Statewide GOP executive record ✝️
Jerry Wistrand Jr. Lean C
Private-sector auditor challenging the politician-auditor model.
Stance: More “professional auditor,” less politics
Dem / Lib field Lib side
😈 ☮️
Wilson (ex-Revenue) · Upchurch · Coffell (L)
Wilson: Accountability / partnerships · labor-friendly
Upchurch: Working-class / rights platform (broader than audit)
Best case
Already doing the job; known statewide.Best case against
Critics say political ladder ≠ pure audit independence.Best case
Actual auditor credentials.Best case against
Almost no campaign visibility.November will pit R nominee vs D nominee vs Libertarian Coffell. Culture-war markers for Dems are inferred from party lane (😈/☮️), not always from detailed personal questionnaires.
U.S. House District 5
Crowded Republican primary. Democrat Emanuel Cleaver has no primary opponent. Map lines may still change for November.
Taylor Burks Hard C
✝️ 🔒
Naval Reserve · business CEO · heavy self-fund + PACs.
Stance: Trump-aligned conservatism
Stance: Border · guns · pro-life lane ✝️
Stance: China / farmland focus
Rick Brattin Hard C
✝️ 🔒
State senator · Kehoe endorse · Missouri Right to Life · Club for Growth money.
Stance: Explicit MAGA / Freedom Caucus brand
Stance: Right to Life endorsement ✝️
Stance: Hard 2A record
Others + Cleaver Mixed
😈 ☮️ (Cleaver) · R field ✝️
Hueffmeier, Patty, Beebe, Knox (R) · Cleaver (D) · Langkraehr (L)
Cleaver: Longtime progressive Dem · gun safety · pro-choice caucus 😈 ☮️
Hueffmeier: Rural health · farm supports
Patty: Cut spending · enlisted veteran
✝️ : Campaign messaging sits in standard modern GOP culture lane (life, guns, border). Club for Growth attacked him on “woke campus” associations at Truman — that’s an internal conservative purity fight, not a liberal profile.
Best case
Cash + military/business résumé to fight Cleaver if the map holds.Best case against
Less legislative paper trail than Brattin; super-PAC knife fight.✝️: Missouri Right to Life endorsement is a hard pro-life marker. “MAGA Marine” branding. Opponents attack specific legislative votes and say he doesn’t live in the new district.
Best case
Voting record + major endorsements + national conservative money.Best case against
Bomb-thrower reputation; residency optics; negative ads.😈 ☮️ Cleaver: Long-serving progressive Democrat (ex-KC mayor). Consistent pro-choice / gun-safety national Dem profile. Under the old urban map he was safe; the new map makes November more competitive if it sticks.
State Senate District 6 — open seat
Bernskoetter’s old seat (Cole + lake counties). Big Republican primary. Amendment 5 is the main argument.
Jake Vogel Cons · Kehoe lane
✝️ 🔒
Coca-Cola bottling president · Army Ranger · Kehoe-aligned.
Stance: Would have voted YES to put Am 5 on ballot
Stance: Cut spending · law enforcement · constitutional rights 🔒
Stance: Small-business / growth focus
Rudy Veit Cons · independent streak
✝️ 🔒
Outgoing House member · attorney · one of few GOP “NO” votes on Am 5.
Stance: Voted NO on Am 5 (tax swap skepticism)
Stance: Protect agriculture · limit regulation
Stance: Support law enforcement 🔒
Stance: Standard pro-life / 2A House Republican ✝️
Rest of field Mostly Cons
Thomas · Skelton · Spicer · Buckles · Salcedo (D)
Thomas: Income-tax end “concept” but not this plan
Skelton: Am 5 “pie in the sky” · ALPR camera conviction
Spicer: JC council · door-knocking
Buckles: Am 5 is a tax swap, not relief
Salcedo (D): Sole Dem for November
Attack mailers: 2016 DWI (high BAC) and 2020 domestic call (no arrest). Factor that however you weigh character.
Best case
Major employer + combat arms résumé + governor’s lane.Best case against
Character mailers; Am 5 adjacency while many locals are skeptical.✝️ : Eight years in the MO House GOP caucus with typical pro-life and gun-rights votes ✝️ . Differentiator is fiscal independence on Am 5/4 design, not culture-war leftism.
Best case
Proven legislator who voted against the tax swap as written.Best case against
“Career legislator” attack; vote may split with other Cole candidates.Lisa Thomas: psychiatrist, ex-rep, Lake area, heavy self-fund.
Ike Skelton: Camden commissioner; fined for removing a Flock license-plate camera.
Derrick Spicer: Jeff City council.
Amber Buckles: restaurant owner, small war chest.
J. Don Salcedo (D): only Democrat; long-shot in R+ district.
State House 59 — Cole outside most of Jeff City
Open seat (Veit leaving). Three Republicans, one Democrat.
Vic Rackers Hard C
✝️
Retired state civil engineer · cattle · early fundraising lead.
Stance: Opposes abortion ✝️
Stance: Right to bear arms
Stance: Cut spending to end income tax (not sales expansion)
Stance: Limit government & taxes · free speech
Carrie Tergin Lean C · pragmatic
✝️
Jeff City mayor 2015–2023 · tornado recovery name ID.
Stance: Budget discipline · public safety · growth
Stance: Careful on Am 5 (don’t harm local economy)
Stance (life/guns): Less explicit culture platform than Rackers ?
Glenn Reynolds Cons
✝️
Blair Oaks school board · Cole GOP club · small business.
Stance: Family values · education focus ✝️
Stance: Am 4 may go “too far”
Stance: Follow voters on Am 5 but wants clearer plan
Becky Kroll Lib
😈 ☮️
Only Democrat · Lohman · labor endorsement.
Stance: Opposes Am 5 tax swap
Stance: Opposes gerrymander / Am 4-style limits
Stance: Dem / AFL-CIO lane 😈
✝️ explicit: Campaign site states he opposes abortion and supports the right to bear arms. Clearest culture markers in this primary.
Best case
Clear conservative issue list + engineer competence + money lead.Best case against
Less famous than former mayor Tergin.Best case
Actually ran a city through crisis.Best case against
City résumé in a more rural district; softer culture signaling than Rackers.✝️: “Family values” + school-board brand. Not as explicit on abortion text as Rackers in sources reviewed.
Best case
Grassroots GOP + schools credibility.Best case against
Smaller war chest.😈 culture lane: Running as the Democrat in a deep-red seat. Pro-choice/national Dem alignment is the party default unless she publishes otherwise — we did not find a detailed personal theology statement.
State House 60 — Jefferson City
Open seat (Griffith leaving for clerk). Capital-city House race. Am 5 dominates forums.
Scott Spencer Cons
🔒 ✝️
Firefighter ~25 years · former city council.
Stance: Public safety first 🔒
Stance: Tax reform OK but not a blind sales-tax swap
Stance: Cut spending first
Kyerra Johnson Lean C
✝️
Senate chief of staff · mental-health focus · personal tragedy story.
Stance: Mental health & early intervention
Stance: Am 5 too uncertain for seniors/fixed incomes
Stance: Responsible data-center growth
Shane Kampeter Cons
✝️
Small business · Ward 5 council.
Stance: Against Am 5 language/uncertainty
Stance: Cut red tape · cost of living
Stance: Pause data centers until risks clear
Suzanne Luther Lib
😈 ☮️
School-board Democrat · only D in the race.
Stance: Education-first lens
Stance: Dem / labor lane 😈
Best case
Public-safety credibility 🔒 in the capital city.Best case against
Crowded with Kampeter for local-pol votes.Best case
Knows the Capitol machinery; mental-health seriousness.Best case against
“Insider” attack is easy.Best case
Clear Am 5 skepticism + small-business voice.Best case against
Splits the council lane with Spencer.😈: Democratic nominee default on life/guns unless stated otherwise. Education-board brand is the differentiator.
What we can prove (and what we can’t)
No junk science on judges. Ideology colors are best-effort from public positions.
- Can prove: specific sentences and rulings covered by local news; votes when recorded; campaign website claims; major endorsements (e.g. Right to Life).
- Cannot prove from open data: every judge’s average prison term, all bond decisions, secret beliefs.
- Emoji caution: Markers use a real firearm icon (not the toy water-gun emoji). A small corner ? means uncertain / low confidence — a solid mark without ? is a clearer hit. ✝️/😈 and/☮️ are for documented or clearly default-party positions. “?” means we didn’t find it — not that the person is neutral.
- Blue→red is liberal→conservative worldview, not “Democrat→Republican.” A Republican can be C or R1; a Democrat is usually L2–L3 here.
Case lookup: Missouri Case.net. Your personal ballot: SOS sample ballot.
Main sources
Start here if you want to verify
- Cole County sample ballots
- MO SOS ballot measures
- KCUR amendment guide
- Independent · Walker political cases
- Walker campaign · Suddy campaign
- Rackers site (life/guns)
- News Tribune / ABC17 / KRCG candidate interviews · Missouri Independent CD-5 & Am 4/5 coverage