On May 13, the filing deadline passed to run for the vacant District 99 and District 158 seats in the Missouri House of Representatives. Trish Gunby (D) and Lee Ann Pitman (R) are running for the District 99 seat, and Lisa Kalp (D) and Scott Cupps (R) are campaigning in District 158. The special general election is scheduled for November 5, 2019, and there is no primary.
Both seats were previously held by Republicans. Jean Evans resigned from District 99 on February 5 in order to become the executive director of the state GOP, while Scott Fitzpatrick left the District 158 office on January 3 following his appointment as the new Missouri Treasurer by Gov. Mike Parson (R). In the 2018 election, Evans won re-election to a second term with 53% of the vote while Fitzpatrick ran unopposed to win his fourth term.
Entering the special election, the Missouri House of Representatives has 46 Democrats, 114 Republicans, and three vacancies. The third opening is for the District 36 seat, which DaRon McGee (D) vacated on April 29. No special election has been scheduled for that seat yet. A majority in the chamber requires 82 seats.
Missouri is one of 22 Republican trifectas. A state government trifecta exists when one political party simultaneously holds the governor’s office and both state legislative chambers.
Additional reading:
https://ballotpedia.org/State_legislative_special_elections,_2019
https://ballotpedia.org/State_legislative_vacancies,_2019
https://ballotpedia.org/Missouri_House_of_Representatives
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