County Voters Reject Amen. 2; Back Wolfin

By MARK EVANS

STE. GENEVIEVE HERALD

Ste. Genevieve resident and former city Alderman Bryant Wolfin edged incumbent Dale Wright in the county, 1,089 to 981, or 52.6 percent to 47.4 percent in the District 116 State Representative Republican primary August 4. Wright, however, won renomination, with 3,779 total votes (58.60 percent) to 2,669 (41.393 percent).

Since there is no Democratic opponent, this  secures a second term for Wright.

In the State Senate District 3 seat, Elaine Freeman Gannon, who has represented a small portion of Ste. Genevieve County as the State District 115 representative, carried the county in a close three-person Republican primary. Gannon garnered 78 votes to Joshua Barnett’s 75 and Kent Scism’s 32. Gannon indeed won the three-way primary race, despite filing on the last allowable day. She garnered 10,630 votes to 9,194 for Barrett and 4,408 for Scism.

Ste. Genevieve voters, meanwhile, rejected Amendment 2, the Medicaid expansion amendment, 2,204 to 1,735, or 55.95 percent to 44.05 percent. On a state level, it passed by a 53.3 to 46.7 percent margin.

Wright was first elected in 2018, beating another Ste. Genevieve resident, union leader Bill Kraemer, the Democratic nominee, by a 64 percent to 36 percent margin. That time Wright won Ste. Genevieve County, 3,396 to 2,923.

This time around, Wright won Salem, Chestnut Ridge, Coffman, plus the community center and absentee voting. Wolfin had some of his strongest support in Salem (116-60), Ste. Genevieve North and South (186-138 and 175-125)  and St. Mary (42-17).