2 incumbent GOP lawmakers who supported Amendment 5 lose primary challenges
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Two incumbent Missouri Republicans who supported the repeal of the state’s income tax lost their bids for reelection in Tuesday’s primary.
State Senator Curtis Trent, R-Greene County, a fierce supporter of Amendment 5, lost in the Republican primary to Lori Rook. With 68 of the 68 precincts reporting, Rook defeated the incumbent senator 53% to 47%, or 16,528 votes to Trent’s 14,639. The difference is 1,889 votes.
All results are considered unofficial until certified by the Missouri Secretary of State.
Also bounced from the ballot: State Representative David Casteel, a Republican who represents parts of Jefferson County south of St. Louis. With all 10 precincts reporting, GOP challenger David Robertson unseated incumbent Casteel 56% to 44%. In terms of votes, Robertson secured 2,354 to Casteel’s 1,846, a difference of only 508 votes.
Amendments 4 and 5 were both soundly defeated in Tuesday’s election, with a glaring number of votes cast against both GOP-led ballot measures.
Despite the ‘Yes on 5’ campaign outspending its opponents, the amendment lost in all of the 114 counties and one independent city (St. Louis) in Missouri.
“By those margins and in every single county, I don’t think we anticipated that,” said Missouri-based Democratic strategist Braxton Payne. “We definitely knew that we had the message.”
Following Tuesday’s deafening defeat, Democrats are hoping to harness the enthusiasm shown against Amendments 4 and 5 into votes at the polls in November.
“When 80-plus percent of voters say ‘no’ to your main issue, which was eliminating or phasing out the income tax and replacing it with sales tax, I would definitely say it’s a bad night for Republicans,” Payne said.