EDITOR:
Missouri primary elections will happen on August 4, 2026. Open seats for the 2026 elections include your Congressman, Missouri State Auditor, 17 state senate seats, all 163 state representative seats, 9 circuit judge seats, plus many county commissioners and other county level offices.
Your local newspaper and your county election authority can tell you what seats are open in your county. Candidates can file for the August primary election from now until March 31, 2026.
Our primary elections are where we have competition within a political party. Candidates compete with ideas, leadership skills, organizational skills and fundraising ability.
In Missouri, the winner of a primary election is the candidate who wins the greatest number of votes cast for that office, even if they do not receive an outright majority of votes.
America was built on competition, so we should welcome competition during the primary elections.
The winners of the August primary elections then compete in November for the actual seat. August is a competition within the parties. November is a competition between the 3 parties. There are three officially recognized political parties in Missouri: Democratic, Libertarian, and Republican. Other parties are active in our state, but have failed to meet the requirements to gain ballot access.
The winner of the November races then becomes your political representative in most cases.
The primary is a very important election. It’s a great time to get involved in the process of who will become your representative.
For more information go to your county clerk or the Missouri secretary of state election page. https://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/candidates#PrimaryElectionAugust
–Paul Hamby
Maysville
