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O’Laughlin comes out ahead in four-way Republican primary

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — “Political outsider” Cindy O’Laughlin came out ahead in the hotly contested four-way Republican primary to fill the shoes of term-limited Sen. Brian Munzlinger.

The Senate hopeful for District 18 was facing three experienced state representatives from the Missouri House in a race that brought in large sums of money and multiple attack ads in the final weeks.

At her victory party in Macon on Tuesday night, O’Laughlin said “the men I ran against served the state well and each one ran a good campaign. Voters were just looking for something new.

“These men have always had the best interests of Northeast Missouri in mind and should be commended for their years of service to the state.

 “This election was about the working men and women of this area. Voters wanted something different. I look forward to a general election campaign focused on the issues facing Northeast Missouri.”

The co-owner of Leo O’Laughlin, Inc. brought in near 37 percent of the vote in the Republican primary, pulling ahead of Rep. Craig Redmon by 10 points. Rep. Nate Walker gathered nearly 20 percent of the vote and Rep. Lindell Shumake rallied almost 17 percent of the vote.

She branded herself as a “political outsider” and touted her experience as a businesswoman in the trucking and concrete industry. O’Laughlin ran a Republican who will “mix it up” in Jefferson City.

O’Laughlin will now face the Democratic nominee Crystal Stephen — unopposed on Tuesday — in November’s general election. Before Munzlinger won the seat in 2010, the district was represented in the state Senate by a Democrat.