From the Missouri Secretary of State:
Unofficial Election Returns
State of Missouri Special Election – Legislative District 15
Tuesday, November 08, 2011State Representative – District 15 Precincts Reporting 13 of 13
Paul Woody DEM 1,836 48.3%
Sommer, Chrissy REP 1,874 49.3%
Slantz, Bill LIB 94 2.5%
Total Votes 3,804
Thirty-eight votes. All of the battle is in showing up.
that Woody came so close without taking the seat or proud of him for predicting that the race was going to be close–when others in the party tended to write that race off.
The answer is both, of course.
Though the final count said he’d lost by a slim 38 votes, dynamo Democratic candidate Paul Woody actually pulled down a victory in Tuesday’s special election. He and his campaign team proved that with a good candidate, a good campaign plan, and a superb execution of the campaign plan Democrats can realistically challenge the Republicans in St. Charles County. STC Republicans can never do it on their own; they must rely on huge amounts of outside money coming in from good ole boy political machinery outside the county. They have no grassroots family and friends donations and they never implement their own campaigns, relying on paid political operatives from outside of this county. The Republicans spent at least 4 times what was spent on the Woody campaign. It took them 4 times the dollars, money collected from all over the state and even outside the state, to narrowly slip in by 38 votes. It cost the Republicans almost $50 per vote to just barely defeat the best candidate for State House that St. Charles County has seen since Ted House. With just a bit more money and bit more time Paul Woody and the hundreds of volunteers who backed him could have overcome that 38 vote deficit easily. The closeness of this race in spite of the overwhelming difference in campaign funds proves that the tide is turning in St. Charles County and that the voters just need a chance to find out more about the huge Republican created log jam in Jefferson City. The MO Republican legislature is bought and paid for by the highest bidder, and when the voters understand this they will vote for the Democrat like Paul Woody who would answer only to the citizens.