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Fitzpatrick wins state auditor race

A person wearing a striped button-down shirt wears an "I Voted" sticker with red and white stripes and lots of people's hands on it.
Rebecca Smith
/
KBIA

After winning the state auditor race Tuesday night, incumbent state treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick will be moving his Jefferson City office down the street come January.

Fitzpatrick, a Republican, beat Democrat Alan Green and Libertarian John Hartwig Jr. Fitzpatrick won with 61% of the vote to Green's 36% and Hartwig's 3% with 91% of precincts reporting as of 11:10 p.m.

Fitzpatrick ran on a platform of protecting taxpayers from wasteful spending and fraud. A major part of his campaign focused on auditing the circuit attorney's office in St. Louis.

Boone County residents also voted on whether to retain a slate of judges in Tuesday's election.

Missouri Supreme Court

Missouri Supreme Court judges Zel M. Fischer and Robin Ransom were retained with 68% and 70% support, respectively, with 91% of precincts reporting as of 11:10 p.m.

Fischer was first appointed to the bench by former Gov. Matt Blunt in 2008 and was previously retained in 2010. During his tenure he served a term as chief justice from July 2017 to June 2019.

Fischer previously served as an associate circuit judge in the 4th Judicial Circuit from 2006 to 2008.

Ransom was appointed by Gov. Mike Parson in 2021 and is the first Black woman to hold a seat on the court. She previously served on the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District from January 2019 to May 2021.

Ransom also served as a circuit judge in the 22nd Judicial Circuit from 2008 to 2019 and as a family court commissioner from 2002 to 2008.

Both Fischer and Ransom will serve for 12 years and be up for review again in 2034.

Missouri's judicial appointment and review system is nonpartisan in nature, with a commission of residents and lawyers recommending candidates from a pool of applicants for the governor to choose from.

Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District

All of the judges up for review for the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District were also retained, with 92% of precincts reporting as of 11:10 p.m.

Alok Ahuja was retained with 67% support. He was appointed to the bench by Blunt in 2007 and was previously retained in 2010. Prior to becoming a judge, Ahuja practiced law at a Washington, D.C. firm from 1989 to 1992 and a Kansas City firm from 1992 to 2007.

Karen King Mitchell was retained with 67% support. She was appointed by former Gov. Jay Nixon in 2009 and was previously retained in 2010. Prior to being a judge, Mitchell worked in the Missouri attorney general’s office, first as an assistant attorney general (1987 to 1999) and then as chief deputy attorney general (1999 to 2009).

Mark D. Pfeiffer was retained with 65% support. He was appointed to the bench by Nixon in 2009 and was previously retained by voters in 2010.

Pfeiffer currently serves on the executive committee of the National Council of Chief Judges of State Courts of Appeals and as the chairperson of the Appellate Courts Education Committee.

Doug Thomson was retained with 69% support. He was appointed to the court by Parson in 2020. He previously served as an associate circuit judge in Nodaway County from 2014 to 2020.

Thomson served on the board of directors for the Missouri Association of Probate and Associate Circuit Judges from 2018 to 2020 and was a member from 2015 to 2021.

13th Circuit Court judges

All of the judges on the Boone County ballot for the 13th Circuit Court, which includes Boone and Callaway counties, ran unopposed in the general election.

Democrats Jeff Harris, Kimberly Shaw, Tracy Gonzalez, Kayla Jackson-Williams and Stephanie Morrell faced will serve on the bench.

The Columbia Missourian is a community news organization managed by professional editors and staffed by Missouri School of Journalism students who do the reporting, design, copy editing, information graphics, photography and multimedia.
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