With 13 of Greene County's 38 precincts reporting, the race for Missouri Senate District 20 Republican nomination is a tight one. Longtime Republican Sen. Curtis Trent was facing opponent Lori Rook, an elder law attorney, in what became an expensive race for the seat.
The first round of unofficial results showed Rook slightly in the lead with 54.36% of votes cast in her favor.
Incumbent Trent was first elected to the Missouri Senate in 2022 after serving six years in the Missouri House. He is also vying for Senate majority leader if re-elected. In her challenge, Rook positioned herself as the "actual conservative" candidate and an outsider ready to challenge the status quo.
The race for the senate seat was among the most expensive in the state
this cycle, according to Missouri Independent reporting, with more than $2.4 million spent in total. Both candidates spent heavily on attack ads, with the 20th District also spending the most from all races on radio and television ads.
Both candidates were focused on improving affordability in the state, though they had different approaches for how to achieve that. Rook was critical of the plan to eliminate the state income tax — a measure a majority of Missouri voters rejected at the polls Tuesday — while Trent championed it.
In the November general election, the Republican candidate will face off against Democrat Sean Falconer.
Marta Mieze covers local government at the News-Leader. Have feedback, tips or story ideas? Contact her at mmieze@news-leader.com.
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Early results show tight race between Rook, Trent for state senate
