Nearly all incumbents unscathed in primary

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Tuesday's primary proved a good one for incumbents, with all but one of the 134 Missouri House and Senate members seeking re-election advancing to November's general election.

Freshman Rep. Tony George, D-Florissant, fell to challenger Steve Webb by just 88 of the 3,120 votes cast in the 74th House District. No Republican entered the race in the suburban St. Louis district, so Webb appears to have an unobstructed path to the House.

In all, 25 House Republicans and 47 House Democrats essentially guaranteed re-election by winning their party primaries. In addition, two Republicans and three Democrats only face Libertarian candidates in November.

It takes at least 82 members to control the House, which has been dominated by Republicans since 2003.

The most contentious legislative primaries were for Senate seats made vacant by term limits or their current occupants' decisions to seek higher office or simply not seek re-election.

Closest was the Democratic primary for the suburban St. Louis seat of Senate President Pro Tem Michael Gibbons, who is term-limited and is running for attorney general.

James Trout, of Webster Groves, won the Democratic nod by 35 votes over Steve Eagleton, nephew of late U.S. senator Tom Eagleton. Republican Eric Schmitt, of Glendale, was uncontested in the GOP primary.

In another St. Louis County race, Republican Jane Cunningham easily defeated a fellow GOP House member and the wife of the senator she seeks to replace. Kevin Leeseberg, of Ballwin, was uncontested on the Democratic side.

And Robin Wright-Jones, who successfully sued to knock one Democratic rival off the ballot for living outside the Senate district, earned an 111-vote win for a Senate seat representing part of the city of St. Louis.

The narrow win essentially guarantees Wright-Jones a spot in the Senate as she will face Libertarian Robert Christophel, who claimed just 11 votes Tuesday. Wright-Jones has served in the state House since winning a March 2002 special election.

Three Democratic senators coasted through uncontested primary elections and are likely to win re-election. For two senators, no opponent has filed, and the other faces a Libertarian but no Republican in the general election. One Republican senator also won an uncontested primary with no one filed to run against him in the general election.

Half the 40-member Senate is up for election in 2008.