2010 Missouri State Auditor election

The Missouri State Auditor election, 2010 took place on November 2, 2010. Republican Ambassador Tom Schweich defeated incumbent Democratic State Auditor Susan Montee. It was only the third time in the last four decades that a sitting auditor in Missouri was unseated.[1] Schweich's victory made him one of only two Republicans elected to Missouri's executive branch.[1]

2010 Missouri State Auditor election
November 2, 2010
 
Nominee Tom Schweich Susan Montee
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 974,517 871,867
Percentage 50.8% 45.5%
County results
Schweich:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%
Montee:      40–50%      50–60%      80–90%
State Auditor before election

Susan Montee
Democratic

 Elected State Auditor

Tom Schweich
Republican

Elections in Missouri

Democratic primary

Campaign

Incumbent Missouri State Auditor Susan Montee had token opposition. She easily defeated her lesser known opponent in the Democratic primary.

Results
Democratic primary results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Susan Montee (incumbent) 267,960 90.06
Democratic Abdul Akram 29,579 9.94
Total votes 297,539 100

Republican primary

Campaign

Missouri State Representative Allen Icet announced his candidacy in June, 2009.[3] Ambassador Tom Schweich joined the race in July, 2009, after having considered running for US Senator.[4] The primary was a close race.[4] Icet had experience as the chairman of the state house budget committee and he was supported by 95 state legislators.[4] Schweich had experience managing audits and was supported by Lieutenant Governor of Missouri Peter Kinder, former United States Attorney General John Ashcroft, former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney, four Missouri state senators, and two former United States ambassadors.[4][5]

Schweich criticized Icet for taking trips and meals from lobbyists and for the fact that the state budget rose from $19 billion to $23 billion while Icet was chairman of the house budget committee.[4] Icet defended himself by saying that the trip he accepted was for educational purposes and by saying that most of the budget increases were due to increased federal spending and mandatory increases of things such as Medicare.[4]

In spite of Icet's support from most of the state legislators, Schweich was able to gain a fundraising advantage and bigger name endorsements.[4]

Results
Republican primary results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Tom Schweich 315,658 58.61
Republican Allen Icet 222,889 41.39
Total votes 538,547 100

Libertarian Primary

Results
Libertarian primary results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Libertarian Charles W. Baum 3,354 100.00
Total votes 3,354 100.00

General election

Campaign

During the campaign Montee attacked Schweich for not being a Certified Public Accountant.[4] Schweich defended himself by pointing to his experience managing audits.[4] During the debate Schweich argued that the state auditor ought to be more of a law enforcement official; he pointed to the fact that he has law enforcement experience, while Montee did not.[6] Montee argued that the state auditor should be a fiscal expert; she again pointed to the fact that she was a CPA, while Schweich was not.[6]

In the end, Schweich defeated Montee with 50.8% of the vote. Schweich obtained strong leads in the rural parts of the state which was sufficient to overcome Montee's leads in St. Louis and Jackson County.

Results
2010 Missouri State Auditor election[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Tom Schweich 974,517 50.8%
Democratic Susan Montee (incumbent) 871,867 45.5%
Libertarian Charles Baum 70,816 3.7%
Total votes 1,917,200 100.0%
Republican gain from Democratic

See also

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2010-12-18.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. http://www.sos.mo.gov/Enrweb/allresults.asp?arc=1&eid=283
  3. http://cmhpolitics.blogspot.com/2009/06/rep-icet-to-run-for-state-auditor.html
  4. http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_79c39b9c-4285-521f-8869-2e9a6e72a078.html
  5. http://www.tomschweich.com/Endorsements
  6. http://www.libertytribune.com/2010102611194/news/community-news/montee-schweich-differ-over-role-of-state-auditor.html
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-02-20. Retrieved 2012-11-07.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)?
  • Elections from the Missouri Secretary of State
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