SOUTHEAST MISSOURI INCUMBENTS WIN STATE HOUSE RACES

Three incumbents have won re-election in contested state representative races in Southeast Missouri, and a fourth appeared headed for victory Tuesday night.

Republican Patrick Naeger of Perryville easily won re-election to a second term in the 155th District, defeating Democratic labor union leader Joe Fallert Jr. of Ste. Genevieve, 7,603 to 5,136.

Naeger won in his home Perry County and narrowly lost in his opponent's home county.

Naeger said incumbency may have helped. "It seems like the tone across the state and across the country is incumbents," he said.

"I feel I have been an effective voice for the people in Ste. Genevieve and Perry counties," he said.

"We have kept in touch with the voters and we have been very accessible to them," Naeger said.

"I ran a very clean, straight forward campaign," he said Tuesday night.

Gene Copeland, D-New Madrid won re-election to a 19th term in the 161st District, defeating Charleston farmer Lanie Black 5,182 to 4,190.

Copeland has served in the Missouri House for 36 years and is the longest serving state representative in the history of the state.

"I just feel very elated," Copeland said Tuesday night.

He said Black ran a negative campaign. The state Republican Party targeted his district and lost, Copeland said.

The Republicans questioned past campaign expenditures by Copeland. But the incumbent Democrat said the allegations didn't hurt him with the voters.

"I think the people know me," he said.

Joe Heckemeyer, D-Sikeston, won re-election to a second term, defeating Sikeston businessman Mark Schumacher 7,179 to 4,532.

Heckemeyer said the Republican Party poured a lot of money into efforts to defeat him and Copeland.

"The Republicans came down to this area to buy us out and we beat them," he said.

Schumacher hammered away at the need for tax cuts. But Heckemeyer said, "The promise of tax cuts without an explanation didn't sell."

State Rep. Jim Graham, R-Fredericktown, was leading handily in his bid to win a fourth term.

Graham had 6,961 votes to 2,991 for Democrat Jim Goldsberry of Marquand, with all the votes counted in Madison and Bollinger counties and with about a third of precincts counted in St. Francois County.