November Election Guide: Who's on the Ballot
The candidates, incumbents and issues that will affect University City and St. Louis County.
Tuesday, Nov. 6 is Election Day across the United States. There are several ballot issues and races which will be decided.
University City Patch is devoted to bringing you the information you need about every race in town. Here are the candidates and issues on the November ballot.
U.S. Senate
Claire McCaskill's bid for re-election will be closely watched by the entire nation in part because of her close ties to President Obama's 2008 campaign.
The fiercely-fought GOP primary saw U.S. Rep. Todd Akin (R-Wildwood), emerge victorious, only to be under fire a few weeks later because of comments he mde in a television interview regarding pregnancy and rape.
A Sept. 25 deadline for candidates to petition their removal from the November ballot has come and gone, meaning Rep. Akin will be the party's nominee despite calls from state and national leaders in the Repubican Party to drop out.
Congress
Redistricting brought on by the latest Census results eliminated one of Missouri's congressional districts, forcing incumbents Willliam "Lacy" Clay and Russ Carnahan to square off in a bitter primary election that Rep. Clay won handily.
Clay advances to the November general election where he's considered an overwhelming favorite against Robyn Hamlin.
Missouri's new Second district is guaranteed to see someone new elected, with Rep. Akin's decision to run for the Senate. Former RNC Co-Chair and U.S. Ambassador Ann Wagner used deep financial support and considerable backing from party leaders to nudge Ed Martin out of a primary contest, and then defeated former Webster Groves city councilman Dr. Randy Jotte in August.
Wagner will face South County Democrat Glenn Koenen, who ran in the party primary against Harold Whitfield, and which required a recount to confim a margin of just under 50 votes.
Issues
Voters in the St. Louis County Public Library system will be asked to vote on a measure which would call for a 6 cent tax increase to fund improvements at facilities system-wide. This vote does not impact University City voters.
The Special School District of St. Louis is seeking a $.19 tax increase to fund technology upgrades, teacher salaries and building improvements.
Statewide Ballot Issues
- Proposition A, which if passed, would put the City of St. Louis Police Department under local control.
- Constitutional Amendment 3, would reform the judicial selection process in Missouri at the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals level. Proponents of the amendment have abandoned their campaign for the measure, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported, citing bias in the ballot language approved by Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnhan.
- Proposition B, would increase tobacco taxes $0.0365 per cigarette and 25% of the manufacturer's invoice price for roll-your-own tobacco and 15% for other tobacco products, according to the ballot language. Estimated revenues of at least $283 million would fund public education in Missouri along with smoking prevention programs.
- Proposition E would prohibit the Governor or any state agency, from establishing or operating state-based health insurance exchanges unless authorized by a vote of the people or by the legislature.
The Candidates
As we mentioned above, candidates from every race impacting University City voters have been invited to load their campaign's profile on Patch.
In some cases, campaigns did not respond and the information has been gathered by a Patch editor. It is not too late to upload your campaign's data here. Campaigns have 24 hours to check their submissions before they are published on Patch.
Meet the Candidates
Patch asked all the candidates to complete candidate profiles. Candidates who completed the profile are listed in bold below.
| Race | Candidate | Political Party | Incumbent | District |
| U.S. President | President Barack Obama | Democrat | Yes | |
| Gov. Mitt Romney | Republican | |||
| Gary Johnson | Libertarian | |||
| U.S. Senate | Claire McCaskill |
Democrat | Yes | |
| Todd Akin | Republican | |||
| Jonathan Dine | Libertarian | |||
| U.S. Congress | William Lacy Clay | Democrat | Yes (1st) | 1st |
| Robyn Hamlin | Republican | 1st | ||
| Robb E. Cunningham | Libertarian | 1st | ||
| Governor | Jay Nixon |
Democrat | Yes | |
| Dave Spence | Republican | |||
| Jim Higgins | Libertarian | |||
| Lt. Governor | Susan Montee | Democrat | ||
| Peter Kinder | Republican | Yes | ||
| Matthew Copple | Libertarian | |||
| Cynthia Davis | Constitution | |||
| Secretary of State | Jason Kander | Democrat | ||
| Shane Schoeller | Republican | |||
| Cisse Spragins | Libertarian | |||
| Justin Harter | Constitution | |||
| State Treasurer | Clint Zweifel | Democrat | Yes | |
| Cole McNary | Republican | |||
| Sean O'Toole | Libertarian | |||
| Attorney General | Chris Koster | Democrat | Yes | |
| Ed Martin | Republican | |||
| Dave Browning | Libertarian | |||
| State Representative | Rory Ellinger | Democrat | Yes | 86 |
| Stacey Newman | Democrat | Yes | 87 | |
| Missouri Supreme Court | George W. Draper III | |||
| Court of Appeals - Eastern District | Gary M. Gaertner, Jr. |
|||
| Sherri B. Sullivan | ||||
| Robert Clayton | ||||
| Lawrence E. Mooney |
Sharpie
2:23 am on Monday, November 5, 2012
Make a special note to remember to watch the Free and Equal Election Debate between third party candidates, Gov. Gary Johnson and Dr. Jill Stein to be aired tonight on Monday evening, Nov. 5th from 9:00 - 10:30 pm Eastern Time. Perform a worthwhile civic duty, and be certain to listen in on this historic debate so that you can make an informed decision on voting day. Third party candidates who will be on the ballot in most states deserve to be heard.
http://freeandequal.org/?v=1