One Clay County commissioner was chosen and the fields for three Clay County Commission seats narrowed with Tuesday’s primary elections.

Voters considered candidates for two at-large positions – one in the Western District, one in the Eastern District. They also considered candidates for Eastern Commissioner Seat 2 and Western Commissioner Seat 2.

Unofficial ballot results, posted Tuesday night on the Clay County Board of Elections website, indicate Scott Wagner was elected to the Western Division Seat 2 position, per Article VII, Section 7.03 of the Clay County Constitution. It states:

“If there are more than two (2) qualified candidates for one (1) office, there shall be a primary election for such office. The names of the two (2) candidates receiving the greatest number of votes for the office at the primary election shall appear on the ballot in the general election. If any candidate receives a majority of the votes cast (greater than fifty [50%] percent of the votes), then that candidate will be deemed elected and no general election will be held for that office.”

Wagner received 53.25% of the vote – 8,875 total votes. The other candidates, Sharon Spero and Rodney Phillips, received 30.51% (5,084 votes) and 16.24% (2,707 votes), respectively.

County election board results also indicate JoAnn Lawson and Steve Wolcott were the top two Eastern Commissioner at-large candidates. Lawson received 11,212 votes (31.45%) out of 35,646 total votes. Wolcott received 8,358 (23.45%).

There were five candidates in that race. Also running were James “Jim” Shrimpton, Scott Hays and Noel J. Shull.

In addition, ballot results indicate Jason Withington and Kenneth Jamison will face off in November in the Western District at-large race. Withington received 14,323 votes (40.73%), with Jamison receiving 13,975 (39.74%). Josiah Bechtold, the other candidate, received 6,867 (19.53%).

Jay R. Johnson and Sherry C. Duffett were first and second, respectively, in the Eastern Commissioner Seat 2 race. Johnson received 7,549 votes (39.71%). Duffett received 5,868 (30.87%).

Lynn Spalding and Vern Windsor also ran, with Spalding receiving 3,279 votes (17.25%) and Windsor receiving 2,315 (12.18%).

The primaries are part of the commission’s expansion process. In November 2020, as this newspaper reported, voters approved the county adopting “a constitutional form of government” that included expanding the commission by four seats.

The current commission has three seats, filled by Jerry Nolte, presiding commissioner; Megan Thompson, Eastern District commissioner; and Jon Carpenter, Western District commissioner.

OTHER ELECTION NEWS

The commissioner results were among a set of primaries that included state and federal races. In keeping with other Missouri Republicans, Clay Countians picked Eric Schmitt to represent the GOP in November in the U.S. Senate race. Schmitt received 11,312 votes (53.43%) in Clay County and 298,852 (45.66%) statewide. He’ll face Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine, Libertarian Jonathan Dine and the Constitution Party’s Paul Venable.

Overall, 40,416 Clay Countians voted out of 173,259 registered voters, a little over 23% those registered, county election board information states.

For additional breakdowns of county voting, visit voteclaycountymo.gov. Click on the link “Live Election Results.”