Update: The results are in. See our breakdown of the 2018 Missouri midterm election here.
Update: As of Tuesday at 9 p.m., the Missouri Secretary of State’s office had not released election returns because Missourians were still waiting in line to vote. Jay Ashcroft estimated the last votes would be cast after 9:30 p.m. Follow St. Louis Magazine for results once they’re posted.
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This midterm election, we gave ourselves what we thought was the easiest voters guide assignment ever: write two sentences about each ballot measure, race, or choice, etc. Wow, were we wrong. There are more than 218 races in St. Louis city, the county, and the outer counties, according to Ballotpedia and the St. Louis-Post Dispatch‘s voters guide. There’s a record-breaking St. Louis county ballot—19 inches and double-sided, the longest in the county’s history. And voting on Election Day (Tuesday) is going to be no small task, either: St. Louis county officials are predicting that 60 percent of registered voters will turn out, which is great, but, well, expect to wait in line for a while. Depending on your polling place, you could have 45 decisions to make…at minimum. (Hey, we only counted 39 for city voters.) There are seven statewide ballot measures alone to research and consider. Early voting would have helped, but besides voting absentee, there’s no such thing in this state.
It’s impossible to cover everything. Instead, we’re hitting the highs with short and sweet descriptions. Brush up on these, and you’ll shave some time off voting. For everything else, we recommend studying the secretary of state’s website, queuing up a sample ballot on the city’s website, county’s website, the Post-Dispatch‘s voters guide, or Ballotpedia. As you head to the polls, remember to follow St. Louis Magazine on Twitter and Instagram, and use the hashtag #WhyIVoteSTL to tell us what you’re most passionate about on Election Day.
If you’ve already voted and are waiting to see the outcome, the unofficial results will be available after 7:30 p.m.
The Biggies
U.S. Senate
Before space and time were created, you probably already knew how you’re going to vote in this senate race, which, quite honestly, feels like it’s been going on ever since space and time were created. Here’s a memory refresh: The two front-runners, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (Democrat, and the incumbent) and Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley (Republican) are fighting it out in one of the closest senate races in the country. How close is it? According to Real Clear Politics, neither McCaskill nor Hawley has had more than a four-point lead the entire race. As of publish time, the stats site FiveThirtyEight was predicting McCaskill would hold on to her seat. The senator is running on the platforms of combating the opioid crisis and stopping sex trafficking, among others.
Early on Tuesday, McCaskill urged voters to read their ballots ahead of time before heading to the polls.
Hawley, whose befuddling campaign website includes no section on platforms (a staffer told us it was under his About page, which does include a section on religious liberty and taking on opioid manufacturers) is running…well, mainly, it appears, to unseat McCaskill. Here’s one point to keep in mind as you head to the polls: Vox pointed out that McCaskill wants to hold on to the Affordable Care Act’s pre-existing conditions protections; Hawley claims he wants to keep the same protections—but also overturn the law in its entirety, a position the site called “absurd.” Hawley wrote in an email blast Tuesday morning: “Today is the day. After months of traveling the state and meeting thousands of Missourians, Election Day is finally here. I want to thank you for your support these past months; from donating to volunteering or even talking to a friend, you have indeed made all the difference.”
U.S. Representative for District 1
Democrat incumbent Lacy Clay’s big platform is Medicare for all; he’s also recently been in the news after a judge ruled that sworn statements some Missourians without photo IDs use to vote are unconstitutional. Clay views this as voter suppression. This is St. Louis, and Hillary Clinton won 77 percent of District 1’s vote in 2016, so … it would be a big upset if Clay didn’t manage to hold on to this seat. He’s running against real estate investor Robert Vroman (Republican) and Robb Cunningham (Libertarian).
U.S. Representative for District 2
Our friends out in the counties will vote on Ann Wagner (Republican, and the incumbent), Cort VanOstran (Democrat, seen as her biggest threat), David Justus Arnold (Green), or Larry A. Kirk (Libertarian). Wagner’s a three-term incumbent who worked across the aisle with Claire McCaskill to fight human trafficking. This is VanOstran’s first bid for office—he’s only 30—but he’s got a compelling story: running on the platform of health care for all, and he lost his mother to cancer in 2016. At the time, she was on an insurance plan purchased through the health care exchange, which Wagner has said she wants to see gone. FiveThirtyEight currently gives VanOstran a 23 percent chance of winning.
U.S. Representative for District 3
Another incumbent, Blaine Luetkemeyer (Republican), going up against a younger Democrat—in this case, Katy Geppert (she’s 36)—out in the counties. This time, though, there’s little chance Missouri’s 3rd, which is solidly Republican, will elect Geppert. According to FiveThirtyEight, she has less than a 1 percent chance of winning.
Missouri state auditor
The leaders are incumbent Nicole Galloway (Democrat), who was appointed by then-Governor Jay Nixon in 2015, and Saundra McDowell (Republican), who worked for former Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster. McDowell has pointed to Galloway allegedly violating the Sunshine Law; Galloway has questioned McDowell’s experience (did she embellish her résumé?) and residency history (the St. Louis Post-Dispatch uncovered that she lived in Kansas for some time. Auditors are required to have lived in Missouri for 10 years to run). These two disagree on the proposed Amendment 1, or Clean Missouri (see below), which asks voters to consider redrawing state legislative districts during reapportionment; changing limits on campaign contributions; establishing a limit on gifts that state legislators, and their employees, can accept from paid lobbyists; among others.
The Amendments and Propositions
Missouri Amendment 1
Aka Clean Missouri. The takeaway here: The last redo of our state’s district maps was 2011. If this amendment passes with a simple majority, an independent, nonpartisan expert demographer would redraw them (and hopefully reduce gerrymandering). Why did we list the state auditor race in our “biggies” section? Whoever wins that race will refer three applicants for the demographer position. This amendment would also cap maximum individual campaign donations for state senate candidates at $2,500, and state house candidates at $2,000.
Missouri Amendments 2, 3, and Proposition C
We admit, this one’s a little tricky. Not sure about how you’ll vote on medical marijuana in Missouri? See our guide here.
Missouri Amendment 4
Yes, we’re really voting on bingo. The game, which usually benefits charity, is still ruled by state gaming laws. This basically comes down to: Do you think the language that limits bingo advertising should be removed?
Missouri Proposition B
This one’s pretty no-frills—do you support raising Missouri’s minimum wage from $7.85 an hour to $8.60 an hour in January? Do you want hourly workers to receive an 85-cent-per-hour increase each year until 2023, when the minimum wage will be $12 an hour? If so, vote yes.
Missouri Proposition D
OK, here’s where it starts to get complicated. This proposition has everything: highways, police, gas, the Special Olympics. It asks voters if they’d agree to a fuel tax increase of two and a half cents per gallon every year, starting in July 2019; to exempt Special Olympics prizes from state taxes; and to establish something called an Emergency State Freight Bottleneck Fund. If it goes through, $288 million will be generated annually for Missouri state law enforcement, and $123 million will be generated annually for road construction and maintenance. If you want more road construction—OK, and better roads down the, uh, road—you might want to vote yes.
St. Louis County Proposition Z
This is the zoo proposition. If you vote yes for a one-eighth-cent sales tax hike in St. Louis county, that money will go toward a new proposed breeding and conservation facility as well as a safari park in North County. St. Louis county residents would see free admission to the park.
Stuff that’s tempting to breeze through, but you shouldn’t
Judges
It can be pretty tempting to skip over the judge retention portion of your ballot. Before you do, consider that the Associated Press reported that an independent committee rated Associate Circuit Judge Barbara Peebles (22nd circuit) as the only one of 59 state judges to not meet judicial performance standards. The Post-Dispatch also recommends not retaining Associate Judge Judy Draper (21st circuit).
St. Louis School Board
St. Louisans will pick two individuals to elect to the St. Louis Board of Education, which has been controlled by a special administrative group since 2007. That group is about to give control back to the local board, however, as reported back in January.
Bill Haas, who went up against Cort VanOstran in the primary for Missouri’s 2nd and lost, and Donna Jones are the incumbents. David Jackson, who was on the board from 2007 to 2015; Cydney Johnson; Adam Layne, who is on the board of new charter school Kairos Academies; Jared Opsal, who opposes opening new charter schools; and Joyce Roberts are also running.
And finally, stuff we wish we didn’t have to vote on
St. Louis County Executive
The Post-Dispatch called Steve Stenger the “least-bad option on the ballot.” Why? He boycotts City Council meetings and avoids public questioning. Worst, his biggest donors, the paper wrote, get the best development contracts.
#WhyIVoteSTL
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