Missouri Secretary of State election, 2016

Missouri Secretary of State election, 2016

November 8, 2016

Nominee Robin Smith Jay Ashcroft Party Democratic Republican

Incumbent Secretary of State Jason Kander Democratic

The 2016 Missouri Secretary of State election will be held on November 8, 2016 to elect the Missouri Secretary of State, concurrently with the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate and those to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections.

Incumbent Democratic Secretary of State Jason Kander had announced that he would run for re-election to a second term in office, but later announced that he would instead run in the 2016 U.S. Senate election for the seat held by Republican incumbent Roy Blunt.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

• MD Rabbi Alam, candidate in 2012^[1]
• Robin Smith, reporter and former KMOV anchor^[2]
• Bill Clinton Young, perennial candidate^[1]

Withdrawn

• Elad Gross, Assistant Missouri Attorney General and nonprofit executive^[3][4]
• Jason Kander, incumbent Secretary of State (running for the U.S. Senate)^[5][6]

Declined

• Jeremy LaFaver, State Representative^[7]
• Mike Sanders, Jackson County Executive, former Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney and former Chairman of the Missouri Democratic Party^[8][9]
• Stephen Webber, State Representative^[10]
• Clint Zweifel, State Treasurer of Missouri^[8]

Endorsements

Robin Smith
St. Louis Post-Dispatch[11] The Kansas City Star[12]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	MD Rabbi Alam	Robin Smith	Bill Clinton Young	Other	Undecided
Remington Research Group (R)/Missouri Scout	July 15-16, 2016	1,119	± 3.0%	7%	41%	9%	—	43%

Results

Democratic primary results^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Robin Smith	241,736	77.28
	Democratic	Bill Clinton Young	50,228	16.06
	Democratic	MD Rabbi Alam	20,836	6.66
Total votes			312,800	100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

• Jay Ashcroft, attorney, engineer and nominee for the State Senate in 2014^[14]
• Roi Chinn^[1]
• Will Kraus, State Senator^[15]

Declined

• Tim Jones, Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives^{[16][17][18][19]}
• Mike Kehoe, State Senator^{[20][21][22][23]}
• Mike Parson, State Senator^[23][24]
• Shane Schoeller, Greene County Clerk, former Speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives and nominee for Secretary of State in 2012^[20][22]

Endorsements

Jay Ashcroft
St. Louis Post-Dispatch[25] The Kansas City Star[26]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Jay Ashcroft	Roi Chinn	Will Kraus	Other	Undecided
Remington Research Group (R)/Missouri Scout	July 7–8, 2016	1,022	± 3.0%	48%	6%	11%	—	35%
Remington Research Group (R)/Missouri Scout	June 17-18, 2016	963	± 3.2%	49%	7%	10%	—	34%
Remington Research Group (R)/Missouri Scout	May 13-14, 2016	1,421	± 2.7%	52%	—	20%	—	28%
Remington Research Group (R)/Missouri Scout	October 23-24, 2015	1,033	± 3.0%	50%	—	19%	—	31%
Remington Research Group (R)/Missouri Scout	June 18-19, 2015	1,130	± 3.0%	49%	—	17%	—	34%
Remington Research Group (R)/Missouri Scout	April 3-4, 2015	621	± 3.9%	51%	—	18%	—	31%

Results

Republican primary results^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jay Ashcroft	401,361	61.33
	Republican	Will Kraus	226,473	34.60
	Republican	Roi Chinn	26,638	4.07
Total votes			654,472	100.00%

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Declared

• Chris Morrill^[27]

Results

Libertarian primary results^[13]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Chris Morrill	3,491	100.00
Total votes			3,491	100.00%

Third parties

Green Party

• Julie George-Carlson^[28]

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Robin Smith (D)	Jay Ashcroft (R)	Other	Undecided
The Missouri Times/Remington Research Group[29]	September 19-20, 2016	1,076	± 3.2%	38%	48%	4%[30]	10%
Remington Research Group	September 1–2, 2016	1,275	± 3.0%	41%	46%	—	8%
Remington Research Group	August 5–6, 2016	1,280	± 3%	43%	45%	—	7%
Remington Research Group (R)/Missouri Scout	April 15-16, 2016	1,281	± 3.0%	40%	46%	—	14%

See also

• Missouri gubernatorial election, 2016

References

1. McDermott, Kevin (March 30, 2016). "The field is set for Missouri's August primary". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
2. McDermott, Kevin (August 2, 2015). "Former KMOV anchor Robin Smith to run for Missouri Secretary of State". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
3. Gross, Elad (March 22, 2016). "Last week, I became a candidate for Missouri Secretary of State". Facebook. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
4. "Candidates face filing deadline for state, county". Jefferson City News Tribune. March 27, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
5. "Jason Kander says he is running for reelection in 2016". The Missouri Times. April 20, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
6. "PRESS RELEASE: Jason Kander Announces He Will Run for United States Senate". The Missouri Times. February 19, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
7. "2016 Outlook: Momentum building". The Missouri Times. May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
8. Rosenbaum, Jason (February 19, 2015). "Kander announces bid for U.S. Senate in 2016, hopes to take on Blunt". KRCU. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
9. Fox, Jeff (February 27, 2015). "Sanders says he won't run for state office". The Examiner. Retrieved March 1, 2015.
10. Drebes, Dave (March 1, 2015). "Webber for 19". Missouri Scout. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
11. "Editorial: Recommendations in down-ballot statewide primary races". stltoday.com. July 24, 2016.
12. "The Star's recommendations for governor — Catherine Hanaway, Chris Koster — and for other Missouri statewide offices". kansascity.com. July 25, 2016.
13. "State of Missouri - Primary Election, August 02, 2016 - Official Results". Missouri Secretary of State. August 25, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
14. Mannies, Jo (February 19, 2015). "Ashcroft jumps into open contest for Missouri secretary of state". KWMU. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
15. "Sen. Kraus announces his candidacy for Missouri secretary of state". Columbia Missourian. July 10, 2014. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
16. "'It could get bloody' — Experts forecast 2016 Missouri election". Springfield News-Leader. November 9, 2014. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
17. "Tim Jones Won't Seek Statewide Office In 2016". St. Louis Public Radio. November 6, 2014. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
18. "Missouri House speaker won't seek office in 2016". The State. November 6, 2014. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
19. "Tim Jones: will not run for statewide office in 2016". MissouriNet. November 6, 2014. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
20. "2016 Outlook". The Missouri Times. October 20, 2014. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
21. "Kehoe for Something?". Missouri Scout. October 3, 2014. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
22. "2016 Statewide Tip Sheet". The Missouri Times. February 16, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
23. Yokley, Eli (February 19, 2015). "Kander exit shakes up secretary of state race". PoliticMo. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
24. McDermott, Kevin (April 30, 2015). "Republican Mike Parson adds his name to race for Missouri governor". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
25. "Editorial: Recommendations in down-ballot statewide primary races". stltoday.com. July 24, 2016.
26. "The Star's recommendations for governor — Catherine Hanaway, Chris Koster — and for other Missouri statewide offices". kansascity.com. July 25, 2016.
27. Hackbarth, Paul (March 4, 2016). "3-way GOP race forms for District 1 commissioner". The Rolla Daily News. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
28. Remnick, Noah (August 8, 2016). "Green Party Sees Opportunity Amid Wide Voter Discontent". New York Times. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
29. "This week's #mosos poll, showing @JayAshcroftMO 10 points over @WithRobinSmith". Twitter. September 21, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
30. Chris Morrill (L)

External links

Official campaign websites

• Jay Ashcroft for Secretary of State
• Will Kraus for Secretary of State
• Robin Smith for Secretary of State
• Chris Morrill for Secretary of State