Scott Clark defeats Shelly Lane in recorder Republican primary

Scott R. Clark defeated Shelly Lane Tuesday night in the Cape Girardeau County recorder of deeds Republican primary. Clark, a 25-year-old retail supervisor at J.C. Penney, won the primary with 5,910 votes. Lane received 5,632 votes.

Clark campaigned for the nomination with the promise of integrating more current technology into the office. He will face Democratic incumbent Janet Robert in November's general election. This is the first time since 1994 Robert has faced an opponent. She has been the county's recorder since 1977.

Clark said he will start campaigning for November's election today. He said with Robert's experience, she will be a tough opponent, but he is up to the challenge.

"The real campaign starts tomorrow. This was just the preliminary round," he said. He plans to start by identifying precincts were he didn't capture as many votes as Lane and working to improve his showing for November.