JEFFERSON CITY — Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe declared victory in the Republican primary for Missouri governor on Tuesday, and House Minority Leader Crystal Quade secured the Democratic Party’s nomination for the state’s top job.
Preliminary results showed Kehoe winning 40% of votes in the GOP primary contest, with about 95% of votes tallied.
His main opponents, who both ran to the right of the lieutenant governor, split most of the remaining votes: State Sen. Bill Eigel was running in second place, taking 33% of the vote while Ashcroft trailed with 23% of votes.
The Associated Press called the race for Kehoe at 10:10 p.m., about a half hour after calling the Democratic primary for Quade.
Quade was leading Springfield businessman Mike Hamra 50% to 32% with about 83% of ballots counted.
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Republicans are favored to win the general election in Missouri, where a Democrat hasn’t won a governor’s race since 2012.
But Democrats are hoping a likely ballot measure seeking to overturn the state’s abortion ban will boost the party this fall. A lack of governor’s races elsewhere this year could also focus attention and spending on Missouri.
“I’m excited to hit the ground running and bring our message to every corner of Missouri: enough with the extremism and government overreach, it’s time Missouri has a leader who will fight for working families,†Quade said on social media Tuesday night.
Hamra quickly endorsed Quade.
“Missouri’s future is on the line in November, and we must all work together to restore abortion rights and make sure Crystal Quade is Missouri’s next governor,†he said in a statement.
In the primary, Kehoe pitched a message of conservative stability as Eigel sought to generate attention through headline-grabbing messaging and policy proposals. Ashcroft leaned into culture wars and promised drastic changes to state government, but stumbled earlier this year after criticizing military discounts, drawing scorn.
Ashcroft, the son of former Missouri governor and U.S. Sen. John Ashcroft, was believed to have benefited early on in the campaign from wider name recognition than the other two Republicans.
“Fifteen months ago, people said we couldn’t win,†Kehoe told supporters Tuesday night, saying “we ignored the naysayers†and “met and listened to tens of thousands of Missourians.â€
“Tonight, we showed that hard work still pays off and that what you do is way more important than what you say,†Kehoe said.
Eigel and Ashcroft both conceded the race.
In the primary, Kehoe’s American Dream PAC attacked Ashcroft this spring for being too lenient on foreign ownership of farmland — putting Ashcroft on the defense even though Kehoe was one of the elected officials to helped authorize foreign ownership in 2013 as a state senator.
Eigel, a leader of the hard-right Freedom Caucus in the Senate, saw some momentum over the summer as polls started to indicate a three-way race.
Eigel basked in controversy last month after releasing an ad featuring a Spanish translator that Quade denounced as “racist bigotry,†and for which Kehoe portrayed as a publicity stunt.
Ashcroft and Eigel criticized Kehoe for not showing up to a July 24 debate, with Ashcroft’s campaign accusing Kehoe of trying to buy the race while avoiding any cross-examination.
Trump on July 27 endorsed all three of the Republicans in the race.
Kehoe also broke with his two main primary opponents on core policy issues: the lieutenant governor said he would be open to changing state law to allow abortions in cases of rape and incest, and he expressed support for incentives to keep the Kansas City Royals and Chiefs in Missouri.
Kehoe was winning in counties across all regions of the state. Ashcroft was only leading in Greene County, where his family owns property. And Eigel was winning his home of St. Charles County, and in Jefferson, Franklin, Warren and Lincoln counties, among others.
In ºüÀêÊÓƵ County, with all polling places reporting, Kehoe was leading with 40% of votes; Eigel was winning 32% and Ashcroft had 25% of the votes.