OSAGE COUNTY — Republican Carrie A. Muenks received 4,110 votes to Democrat Vickie Huckstep’s 895 in the race for Osage County recorder of deeds Tuesday, Nov. 3, according to unofficial election results. The 3,215-vote margin came in the only county office race with two candidates on the ballot.

Osage County reported 5,145 ballots cast. Local voters backed the candidates who finished ahead in unofficial returns for state auditor, Congress, the state Senate, and the state House. On statewide ballot measures, the county majority differed from the statewide majority on Amendments 3 and 6 and Proposition A.

COUNTY OFFICES

Republican candidates were the only names on the ballot for seven other county offices. Sonya Brandt received 4,525 votes for associate circuit judge, and Darryl L. Griffin received 4,467 for presiding commissioner.

Maryann Jacquin received 4,514 votes for circuit clerk, Brooke Dudenhoeffer received 4,484 for county clerk, and Amanda Grellner received 4,506 for prosecuting attorney. Denise Nolte received 4,540 votes for collector of revenue, and Valerie Prater received 4,504 for treasurer.

CONGRESS AND STATE OFFICES

In the state auditor’s race, Republican Scott Fitzpatrick received 4,074 votes in Osage County, followed by Democrat Quentin Wilson with 853 and Libertarian Dustin Coffell with 114. Updated statewide unofficial returns showed Fitzpatrick with 1,067,814 votes, or 50.99%, Wilson with 972,292 (46.43%), and Coffell with 54,003 (2.58%).

Republican Bob Onder won reelection in Missouri’s 3rd Congressional District with 155,109 votes, or 52.51%, according to updated unofficial returns. Democrat Bethany E. Mann received 132,279 votes (44.78%), and Libertarian Jim Higgins received 8,015 (2.71%). In Osage County, Onder received 3,937 votes, Mann received 968, and Higgins received 129.

Nationally, Democrats won enough seats to secure majorities in both the U.S. House and Senate when the next Congress convenes in January 2027, according to Associated Press race calls. Democrats flipped at least seven Republican-held Senate seats in Iowa, Kansas, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, and Texas, and picked up more than two dozen Republican-held House districts.

Democrats also won five governorships previously held by Republicans. The AP called those races for Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia, Rob Sand in Iowa, Aaron Ford in Nevada, Amy Acton in Ohio, and Gina Hinojosa in Texas.

In the 26th District state Senate race, Republican Ben Brown received 4,025 Osage County votes to Democrat Vicky Wors’ 978. With all 107 precincts reporting, Brown received 44,018 votes, or 65.844%, districtwide, and Wors received 22,834, or 34.156%.

Republican Bruce Sassmann received 3,783 votes in Osage County to Democrat Stacy Bax’s 1,252 in the race for the 61st District state House seat. With all 51 precincts reporting, Sassmann received 9,673 votes, or 73.464%, districtwide, and Bax received 3,494, or 26.536%.

BALLOT MEASURES

Although favored by Osage County voters by roughly 3-1, Amendment 3 failed statewide, with 1,173,172 votes, or 55.489%, against it and 941,065 (44.511%) in favor. In Osage County, 3,831 voted yes and 1,275 voted no. Amendment 3 would have repealed the reproductive rights amendment voters approved in 2024, allowed lawmakers to restrict abortion to limited circumstances, and prohibited gender transition procedures for minors, with exceptions for certain medical conditions.

Amendment 6 passed statewide with 1,251,555 votes (59.965%) for and 835,585 (40.035%) against. Osage County voted against Amendment 6, 3,164 to 1,862. Amendment 6 will make the initiative and referendum process a fundamental right and require approval from at least 80% of each legislative chamber to send changes to voter-enacted initiative laws back to voters.

Amendment 7 fell short both locally and statewide. Osage County voters cast 2,730 votes against it and 2,247 in favor, while 1,251,889 (60.547%) voted no statewide, compared with 815,744 (39.453%) in favor. Amendment 7 would have created a permanent public endowment fund to support state government, with the goal of eliminating state-imposed taxes once the fund earned enough to replace them.

Amendment 8 drew 3,219 yes votes and 1,769 no votes in Osage County. It also received majority support statewide, with 1,053,346 (50.988%) voting yes and 1,012,534 (49.012%) voting no. Amendment 8 will place the requirement to elect county sheriffs every four years in the Missouri Constitution and allow an elected sheriff to be removed only through a court proceeding initiated by the attorney general.

Missouri’s Constitution provides that approved amendments take effect 30 days after the election, on Dec. 3.

Proposition A failed statewide, with 1,273,815 votes (61.842%) against it and 785,969 (38.158%) in favor. Osage County supported the proposition, with 2,677 yes votes and 2,255 no votes. Proposition A asked voters to approve House Bill 1, which would have replaced Missouri’s 2022 congressional map with new district boundaries.

JUDICIAL RETENTION

Osage County voters favored retaining Missouri Supreme Court Judge Paul C. Wilson, 2,669 to 1,897. Wilson received 1,157,778 yes votes and 684,554 no votes statewide, for 62.843% support.

All three Eastern District Court of Appeals judges on the ballot received majority support locally and across the district. In Osage County, Virginia W. Lay received 2,888 yes votes and 1,614 no votes, Rebeca Navarro-McKelvey received 2,853 yes votes and 1,651 no votes, and Angela Turner Quigless received 2,751 yes votes and 1,749 no votes. Lay received 63.264% support districtwide, Navarro-McKelvey received 64.445%, and Quigless received 66.349%.