This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, June 5, 2013: Republican Jason Smith won a decisive victory Tuesday in Missouri’s 8th District congressional contest, handily defeating Democrat Steve Hodges, a fellow state legislator.
With all the votes counted, Smith – from Salem, Mo. -- led by a 2-to-1 ratio over Hodges, from East Prairie. Smith captured about 67 percent of the vote, even winning strongly in swing Jefferson County.
The unofficial final tally: Smith received 42,145 votes, while Hodges attracted only 17,203 votes.
Turnout was low, with 62,764 people showing up at the polls. That's just over one-fifth of the turnout in November 2012, when 300,391 cast ballots in the district.
The secretary of state's office reported Wednesday that only 12.9 percent of the 8th District's voters turned out. "The three counties with the highest turnout were Dent (28.26%), Mississippi (20.10%) and Shannon (16.7%)," the office reported.
Also on Tuesday's special-election ballot were Libertarian Bill Slantz of St. Charles and Constitution Party candidate Doug Enyart of Piedmont, who together amassed just over 5 percent of the vote.
Smith, 32, would be among the youngest members of Congress. He told supporters at his victory party that he plans to fly out to Washington on Wednesday.
He is expected to be sworn in after the election results are certified, which generally takes about two weeks.
Attacks Obama, 'liberals,' in election-night speech
Smith also promised, as a congressman, to work for conservative principles.
“President Obama, liberals in Washington and some in the national media view this district as ‘fly over’ country and irrelevant in national discussions," he said in remarks later released to the press.
"They will soon learn this district has a strong, conservative, principled voice in the halls of Congress. They will soon discover that Missouri’s 8th Congressional District will take a stand against the extreme liberal agenda that President Obama and his allies are pushing on us. We won’t apologize for our conservative ideals, we won’t back down from our rural way of life and we won’t retreat to the corner when our freedoms are at risk.”
According to the nonpartisan Smart Politics blog,he will be the 115th "Smith" in congressional history.
National Republican Congressional Committee chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., swiftly issued a statement welcoming Smith to the GOP's fold in the U.S. House.
“The voters in southeast Missouri spoke loud and clear today that they wanted a leader with a proven record of fighting for pro-growth, common-sense free market principles," Walden said. "I look forward to working with Jason in Congress and continuing to grow our Republican majority in 2014.”
Smith had been the heavy favorite ever since he was chosen by party leaders last winter as their nominee to replace longtime U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, who resigned to take the lucrative post of president of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
Emerson and her late first husband, Bill Emerson, had, combined, represented the 8th for 32 years. Earlier, the seat had been held by rural Democrats.
Smith had significantly outraised Hodges and had attracted endorsements from several national Republicans, including former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
Party activists said that Palin and Smith’s mother were featured in robo-calls made throughout the district.
National tea party group praises results
The Tea Party Express, the nation’s largest tea party political action committee, issued a statement praising Smith -- and taking some credit for his strong showing.
"His commitment to the Tea Party movement and our shared goal to reduce the size, cost and intrusiveness of the federal government are much needed in Washington, D.C.," said Tea Party Express chairman Amy Kremer said.
“The Tea Party movement is now able to celebrate back-to-back congressional victories – first in South Carolina (former Gov. Mark Sanford) and now in Missouri with Jason Smith," she added. "We are excited for what Mr. Smith will bring to Washington and wish him the very best."
Hodges, 64, is a retired grocer and had acknowledged that he faced tough odds. As both candidates made final swings through the far-flung district, Hodges spent part of Election Day helping to fill sandbags in a flood-prone area around along the Mississippi River.
Smith and Hodges had similar conservative voting records in the Missouri House and had tangled largely over who was most familiar with the 30-county district, which stretches from southern Jefferson County to the Bootheel.
Smith will have to face voters again in November 2014. A strong margin of victory might discourage potential Republicans – notably, Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder – who believe they have more name recognition in the district. Smith had defeated Kinder and a crowd of others during last winter’s internal balloting among party leaders.
