Meet the candidates: Winners of the congressional primaries in Kansas, Michigan and Missouri

by Conor Kenny — August 6, 2008 - 4:53pm
  • Topics: Election 2008, U.S. Congress
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    By Avelino Maestas

    If nothing else, this year's election cycle has shown that Americans are prepared to try something new. That hasn’t always translated into a win for primary challengers this year, but as Donna Edwards and Andy Harris showed in Maryland, sometimes party voters are more than willing to oust an incumbent.

    In Michigan yesterday, it looked for a time as though voters might toss out another incumbent. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick barely survived a spirited race against Martha Scott and Mary Waters, edging out Waters by a 39.5 percent to 37.5 percent. Early returns had Waters in the lead, but in the end Kilpatrick was able to scrape by.

    In Kansas, former Rep. Jim Ryun lost his bid for the Republican nomination to regain his seat from Democratic incumbent Rep. Nancy Boyda. Another former Congressman, Democrat Jim Slattery, is challenging Sen. Pat Roberts (R) come November.

    The crowded field of candidates for Missouri’s 9th congressional district was narrowed to two: Democrat Judy Baker, a part-time non-profit director who also owns a consulting firm, will challenge Blaine Luetkemeyer (R), a small businessman and farmer, in the November election.

    As part of Congresspedia's Wiki the Vote project, citizen journalists from around the country (and even some candidates!) have been logging information about the candidates' positions, biographies and records. A full list of the candidates and their professions are below, but you can also find them at their respective state portals via the Wiki the Vote project homepage. We need your help to find out more about these candidates, so if you know something about them please add it to their profile. (You can always contact one of the staff editors for help.)

    Here are the victors of Kansas’s primaries:

    Here are the victors of Michigan’s primaries:

    • Sen. Carl Levin (D) is will face Jack Hoogendyk, a Republican state legislator.
    • In the 1st district, incumbent Rep. Bart Stupak (D) is facing Tom Casperson (R), a member of the Michigan House of Representatives.
    • In the 2nd district, Republican incumbent Rep. Peter Hoekstra is being challenged by Feed Johnson (D), an American history professor at Hope College.
    • In the 3rd district, incumbent Rep. Vernon Ehlers, a Republican, will run against Henry Sanchez, a Democrat who owns a small business.
    • In the 4th district, incumbent Rep. Dave Camp (R) is facing Democrat Andrew Concannon, an attorney.
    • In the 5th district, Democratic incumbent Rep. Dale Kildee is being challenged by Matt Sawicki, a teacher of 16 years for Bangor Township Schools.
    • In the 6th district, incumbent Rep. Fred Upton (R) will be up against Democrat Don Cooney, a Kalamazoo city commissioner and professor at Western Michigan University.
    • In the 7th district, Republican incumbent Rep. Tim Walberg will face Mark Schauer, a Democratic member of the Michigan Senate.
    • In the 8th district, incumbent Rep. Mike Rogers, a Republican, is running against Bob Alexander, a Democrat who owns a consulting firm.
    • In the 9th district, incumbent Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R), is being challenged by Democrat Gary Peters, an American government professor at Central Michigan University.
    • In the 10th district, Republican incumbent Rep. Candice Miller is up against Robert Denison, a Democrat and former labor organizer and lobbyist.
    • In the 11th district, incumbent Rep. Thad McCotter (R) is facing Joseph Larking (D), an attorney.
    • In the 12th district, incumbent Rep. Sandy Levin, a Democrat, is running against Republican Bert Copple, an associate pastor and a care-giver at a senior center.
    • In the 13th district, Democratic incumbent Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick is running against Edward Gubics, about whom we could find no information.
    • In the 14th district, incumbent Rep. John Conyers (D) faces no major-party opposition.
    • In the 15th district, incumbent Rep. John Dingell (D) is being challenged by Republican Jack Lynch, a member of the National Right to Life Committee and the Catholic League for Civil and Religious Rights.

    Here are the victors of Missouri’s primaries:

    • Neither Senate seat is up for election.
    • In the 1st district, incumbent Rep. Lacy Clay (D) is running without major-party opposition.
    • In the 2nd district, Republican incumbent Rep. Todd Akin is facing Democrat Bill Haas, a law and ethics professor at Harris Stowe State University.
    • In the 3rd district, Democratic incumbent Rep. Russ Carnahan is being challenged by Chris Sander a Republican who owns a mortgage services company .
    • In the 4th district, incumbent Rep. Ike Skelton, a Democrat, is up against Jeff Parnell (R), a small business owner.
    • In the 5th district, incumbent Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver (D) faces Jacob Turk, a Republican computer programmer and Marine veteran.
    • In the 6th district, incumbent Rep. Sam Graves (R) will run against Democrat Kay Barnes, former mayor of Kansas City.
    • In the 7th district, Republican incumbent Rep. Roy Blunt is being challenged by Richard Monroe (D), a former prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney’s Office and a small business owner.
    • In the 8th district, incumbent Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, a Republican, is facing Joe Allen, a prosecuting attorney for the city of Rockaway Beach.
    • In the 9th district, incumbent Rep. Kenny Hulshof secured the Republican nomination for the gubernatorial race. Democrat Judy Baker, a part-time non-profit director who also owns a consulting firm, will challenge Blaine Luetkemeyer (R), a small businessman and farmer, in the November election.