OSAGE COUNTY  — Voters will decide the fate of two contested Republican races in next Tuesday’s Primary Election.

Three area men—Dale Logan, Joe Schmidt, and George Luebbering—are vying for the top spot in the contest for Western District Commissioner, which will be vacated with Larry Kliethermes’ retirement.

The other contested race is between Brenny Montgomery and Shirley Luebbering, who are running for Public Administrator, a position held for 24 years by Paul Stratman, who is seeking higher office.

A look at both contests and the candidates appears elsewhere in this week’s issue.

Uncontested county Republican races include Jeff Peters for Eastern District Commissioner and incumbents Assessor Tina Kammerich, Sheriff Mike Bonham, and Coroner A.J. Probst. The only Democrat candidate at the county level is incumbent Surveyor Tim Hamburg, who has no opposition.

Incumbent Republican 20th Circuit Judge Craig E. Hellmann is running without opposition.

All of these candidates will be sworn in on Jan. 1 without the need for a General Election.

NATIONAL RACES

U.S. Senator: Incumbent Josh Hawley (R) will move on to the General Election, at which time he will face Karla May, December L. Harmon, Lucas Kunce, or Mita Biswas on the Democrat side, and Libertarian W.C. Young.

U.S. Rep (3rd District): Republican challengers are Arnie C. Dienoff, Chad Bicknell, Kyle Bone, Bob Onder, Kurt Schaefer, Justin Hicks, and Bruce A. Brown; Democrats are Bethany Mann and Andrew Daley; and Jordan Rowden is the lone Libertarian on the ballot.

STATE RACES

Governor: A large slate of Republicans are vying for the nomination — Darrell L. McClanahan III, Jeremy Gundel, Bill Eigel, Robert J. Olson, John R. (Jay) Ashcroft, Mike Kehoe, Chris Wright, Darren L. Grant, and Amber Thomsen; battling on the Democratic ticket are Eric Morrison, Crystal Quade, Sheryl Gladney, Hollis L. Laster, and Mike Hamra; and Bill Slantz is running solo on the Libertarian ticket.

Lt. Gov.: Holly Rehder, Dave Wasinger, Lincoln Hough, Paul Berry III, Tim Baker, and Matthew E. Porter are seeking the Republican bid; Democrats are Richard Brown and Anastasia Syes; and for the Libertarian party, Ken Iverson is running alone.

Secretary of State: Republican candidates are Valentina Gomez, Shane Schoeller, Denny Hoskins, Adam J. Schwadron, Jamie Corley, Dean Plotter, Mary E. Coleman, and Mike Carter; Democrats are Monique Williams, Barbara Phifer, and Haley Jacobson; and Carl H. Freese is the lone Libertarian.

State Treasurer: Cody Smith, Andrew Koenig, Lori Rook, Vivek Malek, Tony Goodrick, and Karan Pujji are fighting it out on the Republican side; Mark Osmak is the lone Democrat; and on the Libertarian ticket is John A. Hartwig, Jr.

Attorney General: Republican challenger Will Scharf is taking on incumbent Andrew Bailey; on the Democrat ticket is Elad J. Gross; and representing the Libertarian Party is Ryan L. Munro.

State Representative (61st District): Republican challengers Paul G. Stratman and Brian L. Tharp are vying against incumbent Bruce Sassmann. A look at their race appears in this week’s paper.

BALLOT MEASURES

Proposition R: At the county level, voters will be asked whether to approve a county-wide half-cent sales tax for the purpose of providing the Road and Bridge Department with funding to improve and maintain all county roads. If approved, the tax would go into effect Jan. 1, 2025.

Constitutional Amendment No. 1 asks: “Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to allow places where individuals, corporations, organizations, and associations provide childcare outside of the child’s home to be exempt from property tax?”

According to the Missouri Legislature, the measure is intended to make childcare more available, which would support the well-being of children, families, the workforce, and society as a whole. State entities estimate the state’s blind pension fund could lose up to $400,000 in revenue per year, but the fiscal impact on local governments is unknown.

Constitutional Amendment No. 4 asks: “Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to authorize laws, passed before Dec. 31, 2026, that increase minimum funding for a police force established by a state board of police force commissioners to ensure such police force has additional resources to serve its communities?”

If approved, the amendment would authorize a law passed in 2022 increasing the city of Kansas City’s required funding for police department requests from 20% of general revenue to 25%, an increase of $38,743,646, though the city previously provided that level voluntarily. No other state or local governmental entities estimate costs or savings.

The measure would amend Section 21, Article X of the Missouri Constitution by allowing the Missouri General Assembly to increase the minimum required funding for a police force established by a state board of police commissioners before 2027. This would specifically increase the minimum funding for the police force of Kansas City and would not impact other jurisdictions.