Warren County voters made their voices heard Tuesday, deciding political party nominees for several important local and regional elections.

Most notably, voters decided the contested Republican race for State House Representative of District 42, which includes all of Montgomery County as well as the Warrenton and Marthasville areas. Voters also chose who will be the next presiding circuit judge overseeing Warren, Montgomery and Audrain Counties.

In both races, candidates from Warrenton were defeated by challengers from other counties.

State Rep., District 42

Jessica Catron of Warrenton and Jeff Porter of Montgomery City were competing to replace Rep. Bart Korman, who is leaving the Missouri House of Representatives due to term limits.

Catron, a former legislative staffer in Jefferson City, led Porter by almost 300 votes in Warren County. But when votes from Montgomery County and a small part of St. Charles County were added to the mix, Porter raced ahead and secured the nomination with 850 votes more than Catron.

Porter, who is the former mayor of Montgomery City, received a total of 4,188 votes. Catron received 3,336 votes.

Porter will go on to face attorney Joseph Widner in the November general election. Widner, also of Montgomery City, was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

Presiding Circuit Judge

Attorneys Tim Joyce, Warrenton, and Jason Lamb, Mexico, competed to take over the top spot of the 12th Circuit Court, which serves Warren, Montgomery and Audrain counties. They were both running as Republicans.

Current Presiding Judge Wes Dalton is not seeking re-election.

Lamb, the former prosecuting attorney for Audrain County, overcame Joyce’s home-field advantage in Warren County to win by a slim margin. 

Adding the other counties in the 12th Circuit, Lamb’s lead increased significantly, ending with over 6,900 votes in his favor, while Joyce received somewhat less than 5,100 votes total.

Because there are no challengers from other political parties, Lamb has essentially secured the judgeship and will take office at the end of December.

Recorder of Deeds

Incumbent County Recorder Deborah Engemann was challenged for her position by Linda Gant.

The recorder of deeds is in charge of maintaining important public records, including for land ownership and marriage licenses.

Engemann defended her position and secured 66 percent of the vote, totalling more than 4,100. Gant received just under 2,100 votes.

Other elections

• Warren County voters soundly rejected Proposition A, aka “Right to Work,” voting 28 percent in favor and 72 percent against. Statewide, the proposition was nearly as unpopular, losing with only 33 percent of voters in support.

• The village of Pendleton approved a 1 percent sales tax by a wide margin of 7 to 1.

• Josh Hawley and Claire McCaskill were selected overwhelmingly as Warren County’s choices for Republican and Democratic nominees to the U.S. Senate. That mirrored results statewide.

• For the state auditor’s office, Warren County voters were narrowly in favor of Saundra McDowell as the Republican nominee. That again mirrored the statewide vote, with McDowell taking in 32 percent of the votes against three other Republican candidates. She will face off against current Auditor Nicole Galloway, a Democrat, in November.

• Current U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer claimed a resounding victory against challenger Chadwick Bicknell for the Republican nomination in Warren County and statewide. Luetkemeyer will face Democratic challenger Katy Geppert in November.

• Elections for state senator for District 10 and state representative for District 63 did not have any contested primaries. Sen. Jeanie Riddle and Rep. Bryan Spencer, both Republicans, will face Democrats Ayanna Shivers for senate and Janet Kester for representative in the fall.

• Seven other positions within the Warren County government only had one candidate of any political party file for office, and were uncontested during the election.