Democrat wins Missouri House District 60, Republican pulls ahead in 59th
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
Democrat Suzanne Luther beat Republican Shane Kampeter in a nail-biter race Tuesday. With less than a 200-vote difference, Luther will succeed state Rep. Dave Griffith (R-Jefferson City), who is term-limited.
“It was actually pretty emotional when it actually happened,” Luther said. “We’ve been working on it a really, really long time. Over two years.”
After her win, Luther told ABC 17 that she was grateful not only that voters put their trust in her, but also that another Democrat will have a seat in the Missouri House of Representatives.
“It feels like we’re having a chance,” Luther said. “Because there’s been this dialogue for the last 20 years when Republicans were actually running everything like, ‘Oh my gosh, the Democrats did this, and the Democrats did that.’ And it’s like, where are those Democrats that you’re talking about? These are the effects from your policies. And that was, I think, frustration that was showing up in this district. And I feel like there’s hope moving forward that we will have more conversation.”
Kampeter serves as Fifth Ward Councilman for Jefferson City and was vying for the HD 60 seat. He declined an interview with ABC 17 News.
Replacing term-limited State Rep. Rudi Veit (R-Wardsville) in House District 59 is Republican Carrie Tergin. She served as Jefferson City mayor for two terms before Ron Fitzwater. That role, she said, helped prepare her for her run for HD 59.
“It’s been a wonderful experience, and I really learned to face all kinds of challenges that we had here as a city,” Tergin said. “For example, we went through the tornado, some of the most difficult times we saw as a city. But then we were able to come back stronger. So I really enjoyed finding those challenges and ways to work through them to make us even better as a community. And I look forward to doing that also in the Capitol.”
Her opponent, Becky Kroll held her election night watch party alongside Luther at the Democratic Headquarters in Jefferson City. After her loss, Kroll told ABC 17 that she was not feeling defeated, rather, hopeful.
“Very excited,” Kroll said. “Because the numbers that we were told for this district were supposed to be so much lower. I’ve been told the last eight years that I’ve lived here that this is a Republican only place and that Democrats don’t belong. And guess what? We move the needle, and it’s fantastic.”
Tergin defeated Kroll with 66% of the vote. Kroll said she plans to run again.
You can find full election results for key races here.
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