Democrats keep House and Senate seats

Democrats held on to their last remaining legislative seat in the Bootheel Tuesday with Dr. Terry Swinger's victory in a three-way race for a vacancy in the state House of Representatives.

According to unofficial results, Swinger, a Caruthersville optometrist, claimed 60.4 percent of the vote in the special election for the 162nd District seat, which represents Pemiscot County and parts of Dunklin and New Madrid counties. Swinger won all three counties.

Swinger, 62, will replace Democrat Denny Merideth of Caruthersville, who resigned in June to take a job with the U.S. Foreign Service Office. Swinger will serve the remainder of Merideth's term, which ends in January 2005.

Republican Bill Wagner of Hayward garnered 22.8 percent of the vote, while independent Shirley Johnson of Steele had 16.8 percent support.

The vote totals with all precincts reporting: Swinger, 2,107; Wagner, 794; and Johnson, 587.

In Tuesday's other special election, Kansas City voters elected Democrat Victor Callahan to the Senate.

Callahan, Republican Lynn Vogel and write-in candidate Sharon Kelley, all of Independence, were vying for the 11th District Senate seat formerly held by Ronnie DePasco, who died of cancer in late May.

With 92 of 171 precincts reporting as of 10 p.m. Tuesday, Callahan led with 60 percent of the vote. Vogel followed with 35 percent, and Kelley held 6 percent of the vote.

Callahan was the early favorite in the heavily Democratic district, in both name recognition and fund-raising. As of Sept. 30, Callahan had raised almost $88,000 to Vogel's $4,700.

Counting the newly elected lawmakers, Republicans hold a 90-73 majority in the House and 20-14 advantage in the Senate.

In Carthage, voters approved by more than a two-to-one margin a new sales tax to expand the city library.

Residents voted 589 to 286 for the three-sixteenths percent increase in city sales tax, which will bring in about $285,000 a year for the $4.5 million project.

Library supporters have agreed to raise $2 million for the project. That goal must be met within a year, and tax collections can't begin before it is met, officials said.

In Kansas City, voters also weighed in on two competing transportation funding plans.

City officials had urged voters who wanted to support a transit measure to vote in favor of one of the tax increases, but not both. Results for those measures were not available as of 10:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Staff writer Marc Powers contributed to this report.