It was a good night for House and Senate incumbents from southwest Missouri on Tuesday night. While more than a dozen Republican candidates in the area had no challenger, current legislators that did fared well.
The mood was overwhelmingly positive at the GOP watch party in southwest Springfield, as Sonya Anderson, Elijah Haahr, and Lincoln Hough celebrated victories against their opponents. Hough, who defeated Democratic challenger Angie Filbeck with 58 percent of the vote, says he gets back to work on Wednesday in Jefferson City.
“We elect leadership, and we’ve got some good races going on across the state for our leadership positions within the party, but I’m going to be again a continued advocate for my community, for the policies that are most beneficial, in my opinion, to the folks here at home,” Hough said.
Republican representative Elijah Haahr was re-elected to Missouri’s 134th District, earning 64 percent of votes.
“It’s nice to be able to go through district and talk to folks about the things I ran on, the things that go accomplished, and wanting to continue on that track. For the first time, I have track record for them to judge me on and obviously the judgment was positive,” Haahr said.
The husband and father is expecting twins. He said after his wife’s due date in December he will then focus on several widespread initiatives for next year’s session, including projects in downtown Springfield and creating opportunities for children in unaccredited school districts.
Haahr defeated Democrat Kevin Knox, a first time candidate for the office.
Sonya Murray Anderson of the 131st District won her race against Democrat Marlee Yant with 73 percent of the vote.
“I’m just going to work hard to represent the district. I’m going to continue to fight for limited government, pro-life, and Second Amendment issues,” Anderson said.
Fred Ellison could not join in the GOP celebration Tuesday. The Republican vying to unseat Democrat Charlie Norr for the 132nd District was defeated 56-44 percent.
This will mark Norr’s fourth term in the Missouri House.
“I’ve retained my seat, and I’m appreciative of that. I just wish there could be others. I’d like to see a better balance between Republicans and Democrats in the house. It’s pretty lopsided now,” Norr said.
Reports early Wednesday put the Republican stronghold in the state Senate at 25 members out of 35, and 117 out of 163 Republicans in the House. That would mark an increase of one Senate seat and seven House seats in Missouri on a night where Republicans also regained control of the U.S. Senate, creating a majority in both federal chambers.
Elsewhere throughout the region, Republican incumbent Lyndall Fraker retained his seat for the Missouri House 137th District, Republican Lynn Morris was voted back to represent the 140th District, Republican Mike Moon defeated his challenger for the 157th District, and Republicans Bill White and Tom Flanigan won House Districts 161 and 163, respectively.
See other results from around the state and Greene County.
