Month: August 2026

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Jefferson City businessman Jake Vogel is the GOP nominee for Missouri’s Sixth Senate District.

Six Republican hopefuls sought Missourians’ vote for the chance to advance from Tuesday’s primary race to the November general election.

Republican Mike Bernskoetter has represented Camden, Cole, Miller, Moniteau and Morgan counties in the Missouri State Capitol Building since 2019. He is leaving the seat open in January due to term limits. As it stands, Vogel will face J. Don Salcedo in the general election– the Democrat nominee who ran unopposed in District 6.

“I don’t even like to use the word politician,” Vogel said. “I know I am one now, we’re trying to fight to be one. We still have a general. But I, we’re in the community and our family business is Coca-Cola. Our job is to build relationships. That’s what life is all about. And that’s what I preach on the campaign trail to get stuff done. I’m not about noise. I’m about solutions. I want to work. I don’t need to be grandstanding. I’ll get any bill passed. If they need to put my name on it. But I have a knack for being positive and building relationships and giving back to the community, especially District 6 in the state of Missouri.”

The fifth-generation Coca-Cola franchisee said Gov. Mike Kehoe called him as final election results rolled in Tuesday night.

“He just said, ‘First and foremost, congratulations,'” Vogel said. “This is a grueling business. I’ve never done this before. I’m an old military guy. But this is a mental, grueling business. And [Kehoe said] hug your wife. That’s what we did. I shed a tear. I’ll be honest, I shared some good emotions. And we stayed positive and consistent with our message.”

The other candidates vying to fill the seat were Macks Creek restaurant owner Amber Buckles, Presiding Camden County Commissioner Todd “Ike” Skelton, former Jefferson City Councilman Derrick Spicer, former Rep. Lisa Thomas and Rep. Rudy Veit.

In mid-July, ABC 17 News asked each candidate why they believed they were the best fit for the Senator seat.

Jake Vogel wants to bring his business lens to the position.

“Just my background, I believe,” Vogel said. “I consider myself a community servant, being engaged in the community, giving back through our [Coca-Cola] products, and everything we can do to help out the schools, whether it be scoreboards. And again, I sell Coca-Cola for a living, so it’s an open, happy refreshment. So that’s how we survive in the community with the relationships that we are proud that we have built. And then my military skill set. People trusted their life with me, and that was my job. So I parlayed that, and taking care of the guys here [at Coca-Cola], I have worked with all types of guys from every walk of life here in business and in the military. I served with people from all different types of backgrounds all over the country, so I have a knack for building relationships and taking care of people.”

Rudy Veit believed his eight years of experience in the House of Representatives set him apart. He also already serves parts of Cole and Miller counties in the 59th District.

 “I have a very broad background,” Veit said. “I’ve been involved in community activities my whole life. And I can read the bills and understand the bills. I have eight years of experience. I just didn’t say, ‘Okay, I want be a senator.’ No, I took the route of going with the House of Representatives so I could learn the ropes in that … And I am also one of the few people that will stand up to establish money when I think something is fundamentally wrong. And that’s why I voted no on Amendment 5. I was one of three Republicans who voted. And I had to protect the constitutional rights of individuals to prevent us from having unlimited taxes on services, sales tax and everything. And also the spending of the Hancock Amendment, all on the promise of, ‘Trust me,’ and not any clear definition of what we’re going to do.”

Lisa Thomas believed her experience serving from 2021-25 in the House of Representatives and her background in health would help get important issues addressed.

 “I’m the only physician, so I understand healthcare, health, mental health and social services,” Thomas said. “That constitutes an enormous part of our annual state budget. I’ve had boots-on-the-ground experience, so I don’t just say, ‘We need to lower healthcare costs.’ That’s a big duh. What I can do is tell you, ‘We can do this, this and this today,’ and we can absolutely impact our costs. We need to negotiate a reasonable tort reform that’s going to lower individual and government healthcare costs tomorrow. We have a group of providers, the only ones by statute; we can tell them where to practice, and guess where that is? Rural and underserved communities. Bingo. That’s what we need to do. We need to be the welcoming state for that group of practitioners. Bring them in. Get them to work. We need to make sure that we have pricing transparency on drugs so that we can have the lowest cost. We need PBMs [pharmacy benefit managers] to be clear about what they’re doing. We need to protect the doctor-patient relationship. Government shouldn’t be interfering. You and your doctor should make decisions about your own healthcare and not be told you have to do this or that.”

Derrick Spicer said he thought he was the best choice because he was running on the basis of not being a “career politician.”

“I’m the best candidate for this seat because I’m actually for the constituents of District 6, because I’m one of them,” Spicer said. “And I want people to understand that everywhere in the district is just as important to me as the people in Jefferson City. I’m not a part of the establishment. I’m me. And I’ve been a fighter my whole life. And I want to continue to fight for the district.  I just think that it’s a situation where I have an opportunity to serve the people. I don’t have to do this. I said I’m doing this because they’re going to get one chance … to make a change. And I’m the change. If they want the same old crap, I’m not your guy. So if they want somebody that’s going to be actually for them, then I will get elected.”

Todd “Ike” Skelton said he had true passions for serving people that’s apparent in all he does.

 “I’ve been a servant most of my life,” Skelton said. “I’ve been in some sort of service through the military, through working, and through child support enforcement, family services. I was a corrections officer for a while. And then even when I was a locksmith, my last non-government profession, as it were, I still served people and helped take care of people, get them out of jams that they were in … And so I have a passion for serving people, and I am very passionate about our Constitution. I’m very passionate about small government, and I already have that in my heart. I’m not going to be a ‘yes’ person for any other politician. I’m not going to be a ‘yes’ person to leadership. I am not getting the big money from lobbyists that I’m then going to be beholden to. I’m not getting big money from corporations that I could maybe be beholden to. I’ll be beholden to the people. I’ll be beholden to the Constitution. And I truly do, I’ve had a lot of different experiences in life, which I believe give me that unique opportunity to understand where an awful lot of people are coming from.”

Amber Buckles said in a statement to ABC 17 News that her experience as an everyday, hardworking Missourian set her apart.

“What sets me apart is simple,” Buckles wrote. “I bring real-world experience, not political experience. As a small business owner, I understand what it means to balance a budget, make difficult decisions, solve problems, and serve people every day. I know what it feels like to work hard, pay taxes, and wonder where those tax dollars are going. I don’t believe government exists to control people’s lives. I believe it exists to serve the people, protect their constitutional rights—including the right to keep and bear arms under the Second Amendment—spend their tax dollars responsibly, and stay accountable to the citizens—not special interests. If elected, I will be accessible, transparent, and willing to listen. I may not have every answer on day one, but I will always ask questions, seek facts, and make decisions based on what is best for the hardworking people of Senate District 6 and the State of Missouri.”

Polls closed at 7 p.m.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Secretary of State Denny Hoskins said Tuesday that a citizen-led referendum challenging a Republican-friendly map passed by the state legislature is “insufficient.”

Hoskins made the announcement at a news conference in Jefferson City about an hour before his deadline to certify the petition challenging the “Missouri First” congressional map.

Hoskins said the designation that the referendum is “insufficient, due to it being unconstitutional,” is based on court rulings and an opinion from the Missouri attorney general. The Missouri Constitution simply doesn’t allow a challenge to a congressional map, Hoskins maintained.

The “referendum itself is null and void by virtue of the fact that it is unconstitutional,” Hoskins said. He said no number of valid signatures would be enough to get the measure on the ballot.

Hoskins waited until the last day required by law to make a decision. ABC 17 News reached out to the secretary about two weeks before the deadline, and Hoskins said he was still reviewing signatures and researching the constitutionality of a referendum on a redistricting map.

The group backing the referendum, People Not Politicians, said before the news conference that it was prepared for Hoskins to call the referendum unconstitutional and is gearing up for another court battle, even though the group said it has more than enough signatures required by law.

People Not Politicians filed a lawsuit on Tuesday evening challenging Hoskins. The petition claims the referendum is sufficient.

The lawsuit argues “Hoskins did not identify the number of signatures gathered as a reason for deeming the Referendum insufficient.” It also says Hoskins’ claim “the Missouri and U.S. Constitutions prohibit subjecting a redistricting bill to the referendum” is incorrect.

Back in December, a federal judge ruled that Hoskins could declare the referendum unconstitutional, but many people are wondering why Hoskins waited until the last day to decide.

If Hoskins decides to certify the referendum, it would freeze the 2025 map, and Missouri would go back to the previous map passed in 2022. What this means for the August and November elections isn’t clear.

However, Hoskins has stuck by the 2025 map, saying it’s the “law of the land.” He reiterated those words Tuesday.

Lawmakers passed the map during a special session nearly a year ago. The 2025 map significantly alters District 5, which Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver (D-Kansas City) currently holds in Congress.

The map extends the district, which was centered primarily on Kansas City, across Missouri and into northern Boone County. Republican lawmakers are anticipating the district to flip from Democratic to Republican, giving Missouri seven GOP members and one Democrat in Congress.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A migrant who was deported from the United States four times was charged with multiple felonies after he allegedly chased a woman on July 22 in Jefferson City, court documents say.

Cesar Garcia-Duarte, 41, was charged on Tuesday in Missouri’s Western District Court with being a felon with a gun, being a migrant with a gun and illegal reentry.

The affidavit says Garcia-Duarte was deported from the country in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2018 and had been convicted in 2014 with reentry of a removed migrant.

Court documents say the victim called police at 12:17 a.m. July 22, indicating a man had showed her drugs at a Jefferson City gas station and eventually tried to force her vehicle off the road while chasing her.

The statement says police saw Garcia-Duarte driving in a lane for oncoming traffic on Jackson Street near East Miller Street, alongside the victim’s vehicle. Jefferson City police tried to conduct a traffic stop and Garcia-Duarte stopped his vehicle before taking off, the statement says.

Garcia-Duarte eventually crashed his vehicle on the on-ramp of Highway 54 and his vehicle was found upside down in an embankment, court documents allege. Garcia-Duarte allegedly gave a fake name at University Hospital. Police found a gun without ammunition in Garcia-Duarte’s vehicle, the officer wrote.

Additionally, police also found two ID cards, one with Garcia-Duarte’s name that was issued in 2018 and expired in 2021 that indicated he was from El Salvador, the statement says. On the second ID, police saw it named “Carlos Enrique Ramos” from Mexico and that it expired in 2027, court documents allege.

Garcia-Duarte allegedly admitted to drinking 10 beers before driving his vehicle and claimed the victim asked for drugs, money and wanted to meet with him, court documents say. The victim refuted the claims and told police that Garcia-Duarte approached her at the gas station, started talking, but she did not understand what he was saying, the statement says.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

A Columbia man accused of shooting two people on July 25 at Douglass Park was booked into the Boone County Jail on Monday night.

Lenn Dukes, 42, was charged on July 28 in Boone County with two counts of first-degree assault, two counts of armed criminal action, one count of illegal gun possession and one count of unlawful use of a weapon. He is being held at the Boone County Jail without bond. A court appearance was held on Tuesday. Police wrote in a Tuesday press release that Dukes was arrested in Lincoln County.

The probable cause statement says two people were shot at Douglass Park at 9:47 p.m. July 25 and one of the victims was found at the Blind Boone Center. The second victim was not found, but a witness told police a second person was shot in their wrist, the statement says.

Officers spoke with one of the victims at University Hospital and he allegedly stated he was sitting at the same picnic table with Dukes before Dukes started “circling” the area, the statement says. The victim claimed he said something to Dukes and Dukes replied, but he did not remember what was said, court documents say.

The victim then heard four gunshots and had injuries to his back and left bicep, court documents allege.

A witness told police that they heard Dukes demand money before firing shots, the statement says.