Primary win puts Cooper in Cape House seat

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Nathan Cooper will be Cape Girardeau's next state representative after claiming 47.1 percent of the vote in Tuesday's three-way Republican primary in the 158th District.

With 2,736 votes, Cooper, a lawyer, finished well ahead of Cape Girardeau Central High School teacher Eugene "Pete" Frazier, who came in second with 2,200 votes, or 37.8 percent of the total. Phil Brinson, the owner of Buckner Brewing Co., received 877 votes, or 15.1 percent, according to final but unofficial results.

Since no Democrats filed for the office, Cooper will be unopposed in the Nov. 2 general election and will replace two-term state Rep. Jason Crowell of Cape Girardeau, who is running for the Senate.

"I look forward to working to advance good conservative principles in Jefferson City," Cooper said.

The 158th District represents most of the city of Cape Girardeau.

Frazier said he was proud of his strong second-place finish and plans to use it as a teaching tool.

"It's been a great learning experience for me and hopefully I can return that to my students at Cape Girardeau Central," he said.

Brinson said Cooper's heavy spending was the key factor in the race and that Frazier deserves high marks for such a strong showing as the candidate who by far spent the least.

"I've always said the person that works the hardest deserves to win and apparently that was Mr. Cooper," Brinson said.

Democrat Boyce Wooley and Republican Billy Pat Wright, both of Dexter, claimed the nominations for the 159th District seat in the House of Representatives. That district covers most of Stoddard County, the southwestern third of Cape Girardeau County and a small corner of Wayne County.

Wooley, a former teacher and coach at Dexter High School, beat William Ryan Holder of Advance 3,068 to 2,128 for 59 percent of the overall Democratic vote.

With a 48.1 percent plurality on the Republican side, Wright, a real estate agent, prevailed over former Stoddard County Associate Commissioner Jerry Elder of Bloomfield, who had 37.1 percent support, and Don Stephens of Advance, a retired pastor who garnered 14.8 percent. The vote totals were Wright, 1,595; Elder, 1,232; and Stephens, 492.

In the Republican primary in the 106th District, optometrist Steven Tilley of Perryville claimed 57.7 percent support to beat Gary Romine of Farmington 2,600 to 1,904. Although Romine won the St. Francois and Ste. Genevieve portions of the district, a strong showing by Tilley in Perry County put him over the top.

Tilley will face Democrat David Cramp of Farmington in the general election.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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