Daviess County voters endorse incumbents

Forget about who’s been elected President of the United States for a moment. If you’re looking for a close election outcome, look no further than Daviess County’s election for District 1 Commissioner.

Incumbent District 1 Commissioner David Holcomb turned back Democrat challenger David Cox by just a 4-vote margin among the 1,828 votes cast on this race — the closest election decision in memory.

Voters by precinct were decisive in expressing their choice, despite the near perfect balance of the total. In most instances, when the winning candidate won a precinct, he won big. Mr. Cox narrowly missed success in his first bid for a county office, running strongest in his home community of Jamesport. Holcomb countered by mustering a near 3-to-1 advantage at Pattonsburg and winning big at Coffey. The battleground proved to be at Altamont, in the absentee vote, and also at Lock Springs.

The District 1 Commissioner decision was one of three key local election races. County government remains unchanged after yesterday’s vote, with challengers running against the other incumbent commissioner and also against the sheriff turned away by voters.

Republican Commissioner Danny Heldenbrand won his bid for re-election by a 133-vote margin although failing to gain a majority in Union Township were the most votes were cast. Challenger Lance Critten tallied a 65-vote edge over Heldenbrand at Gallatin, but Heldenbrand won both other voting precincts at Winston and Wesley Chapel as well as the absentee count. Heldenbrand has served as a commissioner here since 1992.

Sheriff Kevin Heldenbrand will enter into his second term after defeating Democrat challenger and former deputy sheriff Jerry Baldwin by 300 votes among the 3,722 ballots cast. Each candidate claimed victories at six precincts yesterday, but Heldenbrand’s strong showing at his native Winston (+234), Wesley Chapel (+66), Altamont (+60) and in the absentee vote (+56) offset Baldwin’s majorities at Jamesport (+49), Pattonsburg (+39) and Civil Bend.(+31).

For Congressman, State Representative

Daviess Countians endorsed both incumbents for re-election to represent this area in the U.S. House of Representatives and in the Missouri House.

Republican Sam Graves easily outdistanced challenger Charles Broomfield across the 6th Congressional District as well as locally. Graves posted a 70% majority in Daviess County en route to his re-election.

Democrat Jim Whorton defeated Republican challenger Bob Darby in every voter precinct in Daviess County for a 67% majority endorsement. Whorton also carried the rest of the 3rd District to return to the Missouri House of Representatives.

County Results Echo State, National Outcomes

Daviess County voters aligned with majorities selecting candidates for state and national offices in nearly every instance. Daviess County voted a 62% majority for Republican incumbent President George W. Bush. The county also voted Republican for Missouri governor, giving Matt Blunt a 56% majority over Democrat Claire McCaskill.

Daviess Countians provided the majorities for these winning candidates: Republican Kit Bond for U.S. Senate, Republican Peter Kinder for Missouri Lt. Governor, Democrat Robin Carnahan for State Secretary of State, Republican Sarah Steelman for State Treasurer, and Democrat Jay Nixon for Attorney General.

Amendment 3, Other Local Decisions

Another ballot outcome of interest was a proposed amendment to the state constitution to limit the expenditure of motor vehicle fuel tax revenue to construction and maintenance of roads and bridges. Daviess County voters echoed the decision made statewide by approving Amendment No. 3 yesterday in definitive fashion, 2,997-yes to 517-no.

A school bond issue at Pattonsburg was overwhelmingly approved despite recent reports and a pending investigation of school finances there. Pattonsburg voters approved a general obligation bond in the amount of $725,000 by a decisive 314-yes, 73-no vote. This financial proposal required a two-thirds majority.

Four other candidates for countywide offices were re-elected without opposition. These include Betty Harmison for assessor, Rita Rains for treasurer, David McWilliams for coroner, and Vicki Corwin for public administrator. A complete listing of Daviess County precinct returns are printed on page 3 inside this edition.