Swan never requested recount in closely decided state Senate primary

Kathy Swan didn’t officially concede the Aug. 4 Missouri Senate District 27 primary to declared winner Holly Rehder, but she never asked for a recount of the vote either.

Holly Rehder

When dust cleared from the hotly-contested Republican primary, Rehder had defeated Swan by a margin of 139 votes out of a total of 33,539 cast.

Holly Rehder

The margin of victory was 0.4%, and under Missouri law, Swan, term-limited in House District 147, would have been entitled to a vote recalculation.

No recount request was made by the Aug. 29 deadline, said Missouri Secretary of State’s Office communications director Maura Browning on Tuesday.

Swan posted on social media the day after the primary: “The results were not what we hoped (and) I wish Holly the best.”

Rehder, who currently represents the 148th District in the Missouri House of Representatives, will face Democrat Donnie Owens in the Nov. 3 general election for the right to represent constituents in the six-county District 27 area.

The winner will succeed Wayne Wallingford in the state Senate. Wallingford, a Republican who was term-limited in the state Senate, will face Democrat Andy Leighton for in the 147th District House seat.