Candidates line up for Aug. 3 primary election
The first day of candidate filing for the primary Aug. 3 was a busy one for office seekers, especially in the U.S. Congress 4th District seat currently held by Ike Skelton. By noon Tuesday six Republicans had filed for the seat; James Scholz, Warrensburg; Roy Viessman, Jefferson City; Brian Riley, Marshall; Bill Stouffer, Jefferson City; Arthur John Madden, Malta Bend; and Vicky Hartzler, Harrisonville. They were joined by a Constitution Party candidate; Greg Cowan, Lebanon.
Republicans were just as busy filing for the Senate seat currently held by Claire McCaskill; Hector Maldonado, Sullivan; R.L. Praprotnik, St. Louis; Mike Vontz, Lake St. Louis; Davis Conway, St. Peters; and Roy Blunt, Springfield. They were joined by a Libertarian Party candidate; Jonathan Dine, Riverside; and a Constitution Party candidate; Joe Martellaro, Cuba.
Local candidates have filed for several county offices. The lone Republican to file so far has been Doug Shupe, the incumbent in the Recorder of Deeds office. Jim Earnest and Bonnie McCord have filed for Presiding Commissioner. Tammi Beach, for County Clerk; Vickie Erwin, for Circuit Clerk; Neal Quitno, for Associate Circuit Judge; and Lynn M. Ewing III, Prosecuting Attorney. All but Earnest are incumbents.
No one has filed for the 125th district state representative seat held by Barney Fisher. Reached at Jefferson City Fisher said he would file by the end of the week.
"I'm not going to file today, I don't like standing in lines -- I have better things to do than that," Fisher said. "I can accomplish a lot more than standing in a line for two and a half hours. I'll wait until tomorrow or Thursday and it will probably only take 15 minutes."