JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — For the last month, Rep. Bill White showed a commanding lead in the polls and that momentum carried him to a win on election night.
On Tuesday night, White secured the Republican nomination for SD 32 to get one step closer to replacing term-limited Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard.
Sixty-four percent (17,473 votes) of the vote went to White, the state representative who has hit the ground hard in the district while rolling a large number of funds and donations. 36 percent (9,763 votes) of the vote went to O’Brian, the Joplin Chamber of Commerce leader, a newcomer to state politics.
The Joplin Republican is a United States Marine Corps veteran, lawyer, and has served in the House since being elected in 2011 following the Joplin tornado.
White will face Democratic nominee Carolyn McGowan and Green candidate Conon Gillis, both of whom were unopposed on Tuesday, in the November general election.
Alisha Shurr was a reporter for The Missouri Times and The Missouri Times Magazine. She joined The Missouri Times in January 2018 after working as a copy editor for her hometown newspaper in Southern Oregon. Alisha is a graduate of Kansas State University.
