With all the hype about the national presidential race, it can be easy to forget about local elections. 2016 is a big election year with many Missouri government positions open. Yet most Missourians have no idea that we even have a local election coming up including the Governor position. With everything from Governor to Attorney General up for election, there will be many people on the ballot that most Missourians don't know. However, we should try not to fall into the trap of only focusing on the national election. We should not allow ourselves to show up on election day ignorant of our local election. To do this, we must familiarize ourselves with the positions up for election and who is running.
1. Governor
Governor Jay Nixon currently holds this position and after the August second primaries, it will be clear who the contenders are for this position. However, currently, 10 people are running for this post. There are four Democrats, four Republicans, one Independent and one Libertarian.
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2. Lieutenant Governor
Peter Kinder currently holds this position. Kinder is running for Governor in 2016. Nine people are vying for the position including one write-in (Mary Bower). Out of the nine candidates, three are Republican, three are Democrat, one is a Libertarian, one is an Independent, and one is a write-in.
3. Secretary of State
Jason Kander holds this position. Kander is running for U.S. Senate in 2016. Currently, seven people are running for Secretary of State. Of the seven candidates, three Democrats, three are Republican and one is a Libertarian. After August second, this number will be smaller.
4. State Treasurer
Clint Zweifel currently holds this position. Zweifel is retiring in 2016. As of right now, four people are running for this position. There are two Democrats running for this position. One Republican is running for this position and one Libertarian is running.
5. Attorney General
Chris Koster holds this position. Koster is running for Governor in 2016. As for the candidates vying for this position, there are four. There are two Republicans and two Democrats running for this position.
Not only is our Missouri Cabinet up for election, but Roy Blunt is up for reelection for the U.S. Senate as well as several members of the U.S. House of Representatives, including my district's Representative Sam Graves. With this information, I hope that more Missourians pay attention to the local elections and stay informed about the candidates.
