Clay County voters narrowed the field for several county commission seats Tuesday, August 4, while also helping decide a slate of statewide ballot measures that could affect local government operations.

Unofficial primary results show Jennifer Justus and incumbent Jerry Nolte advancing in the race for Clay County presiding commissioner, setting up a November contest for the county’s top commission post. In the Western Commissioner Seat 2 race, incumbent Jon Carpenter and challenger Theresa Leaming also moved on to the general election ballot.

The Eastern Commissioner race did not require a primary decision. Incumbent Jay Johnson and challenger Mark McAuliffe were already positioned to appear on the November ballot.

State House Matchups

Several Missouri House races that include Clay County voters also became clearer after the primary. In District 28, incumbent Democrat Donna Barnes will face Republican Steven W. Hinton. District 30 will feature Democrat Kevin Grover against Republican Jeff Martin, while District 39 will send Republican Mark Meirath into a general election race against Democrat Tanya Lakins. In District 56, Democrat Staci Czar will face Republican Steve Baker.

Statewide Measures Draw Local Attention

Clay County voters joined Missourians statewide in approving Amendment 1, which continues the existing soil and water conservation and state parks sales tax for another 10 years. Voters also approved Amendment 2, a change that requires Missouri charter counties, including Clay County, to elect a county assessor.

Two other proposed constitutional changes failed. Voters rejected Amendment 4, preserving the current simple statewide majority threshold for citizen-led initiative petitions, and turned down Amendment 5, which sought changes to state income and sales tax codes.

Complete unofficial primary summary data is available from the Clay County Board of Election Commissioners.

KPGZ News – Brian Watts contributed to this story.