By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Republicans swept to victory in the St. Joseph area state representative races.
Rep. Bill Falkner of St. Joseph won re-election to the 10th Representative District and says the victory makes him want to work hard for the community.
“It was surprising and like I said before, really humbling as well. I’m excited and honored to be able to represent the 10th District in Jefferson City.” Falkner tells St. Joseph Post.
Falkner easily defeated Democrat Colby Murphy 7,110 votes to 4,541.
Rep. Brenda Shields of St. Joseph also won re-election to the 11th State Representative District.
“I’m really grateful for the opportunity to continue to serve the citizens of the 11th District,” Shields tells St. Joseph Post. “It’s just a real honor to be able to represent them in Jefferson City.”
Shields won in Buchanan County 9,737 to 4,115 over Democrat Brady Lee O’Dell. Shields won by a margin of 2,397 to 934 in Platte County.
Republican Dean VanSchoiack won big in both Buchanan and Andrew Counties over Democrat Karen Planalp. VanSchoiack won 6,598 to 3,537 in Buchanan County and even bigger in Andrew County: 7,449 to 2,129.