By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

An extremely close race for Buchanan County Western District Commissioner as incumbent Democrat Ron Hook wins re-election by 20 votes.

Unofficial results released by the Buchanan County Clerk’s office has Hook with 7,851 votes to 7,831 votes for Republican challenger Everett Goddard, Jr. That’s a split of 49.96% to 49.83%, close enough to trigger a likely recount.

St. Joseph state Rep. Bill Falkner easily won re-election in the other contested local race. Falkner, a Republican, won 8,145 votes to 4,999 cast for Democrat Andrew Gibson. Falkner won election to his fourth and final term in the Missouri House. Term limits will prevent him from running again.

Buchanan County voters gave strong support for former President Donald Trump and incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley.

Buchanan County voters gave overwhelming support to sports betting and narrowly supporter the lifting of the state abortion ban.

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