Rehder, Owens seek District 27 Senate seat

Among the races some voters will decide Tuesday is the District 27 state Senate seat, which is coming open because of term limits.

Republican state Rep. Holly Rehder is facing Democrat Donnie Owens.

Rehder, term-limited from her House seat, won the GOP primary earlier this year. She lives in Sikeston, Missouri, is a business owner and has a background in the communications industry.

"Above all, a public servant must be available to the people. Be responsive to constituents, take the calls, help them in any way you can. Turn over every stone for them," she told B Magazine. "As a representative, I am often the liaison to the people, helping them cut through government red tape. I take that very seriously. As a legislator, I think we need a smaller, more efficient government. We cannot waste the people's money on ridiculous schemes and then demand more from the people. A public servant should help make the government more accountable and transparent to the people."

Owens, a self-described "semi-retired truck driver, has never held elective office, though he has previously run for the state Senate. He is an Air Force veteran and has a background in military intelligence. He is a native of Fredericktown, Missouri.

"The reason I am running is so that the democrats in this district have a choice and a way to show the GOP that they do not have a mandate. I am a moderate something the GOP doesn't know the meaning of," he told the magazine.

District 27 consists of Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Madison, Mississippi, Perry and Scott counties.