Incumbent Smith holds on to Missouri’s 8th Congressional District

Republican incumbent Jason Smith will continue to represent Missouri’s 8th Congressional District in the U.S. House.

With 370 of 462 precincts reported, about 80 percent of all votes, Smith appears to have taken the race with 126,096 of the votes.

Democrat Kathy Ellis and Libertarian Jonathan Lee Shell ran against Smith in the race.

Smith led with 75 percent of the reported vote total over Ellis, who received 23 percent of reported votes, according to the New York Times.

“The past two years have been an incredible journey working with President Trump to change the culture in Washington and return the power to the people of Missouri, but our mission is just beginning,” Smith said.

The 8th District includes rural southeast and south-central Missouri as well as some counties in southwest Missouri.

Jason Smith (R)

Smith said he aims to continue to keep Washington out of Missouri, providing health care for Missourians and focusing on farms by protecting rural Missouri.

“My philosophy is the philosophy of the majority of southeast Missouri,” Smith said. “They just want government off their backs and out of their way.”

Smith was elected to represent the 8th District in a June 2013 special election, and then was re-elected in November 2014.

Kathy Ellis (D)

Ellis looked to address issues such as health care for all, equal protection under the law, good jobs and job training.

She said prior to the election results she would focus on an infrastructure plan to take care of decaying public buildings as well as assuring public school education.

Ellis said she wanted to rebuild the 8th District from the inside out.