Candidate withdrawal cuts GOP House advantage

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- A Southeast Missouri lawmaker's sudden decision drop his re-election bid has thrown an unknown factor into the electoral mathematics of the Republican Party's efforts to win control of the House of Representatives.

On Friday, a St. Francois County judge ordered state Rep. Tom Burcham's name removed from the Nov. 5 ballot. Burcham, R-Farmington, had requested his name be withdrawn from the 106th District race following his second arrest in five months for driving while intoxicated.

The development erases the advantage of incumbency Republicans had in the district while putting the GOP's replacement candidate at the disadvantage of having to put together a campaign less than two months before Election Day.

Republicans need a net gain of six seats to a claim a House majority. However, because of term limits only a handful of incumbents are on the ballot, making for dozens of wide-open races across the state.

Party insiders say Farmington Mayor Kevin Engler will fill Burcham's ballot spot. The 106th District Republican Committee has until Oct. 4 to choose a new candidate but is expected to do so this week.

If selected, Engler will face Democrat Dennis W. Smith, a Farmington city councilman, and independent Elbert Bohnert of Perryville in November.

Engler, a stock broker with Edward Jones Co., said several prominent Missouri Republicans, including U.S. Sen. Kit Bond and U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, asked him to run for the seat.

"They bugged me for three days, and I agreed to do it," Engler joked. "The vote is up to the committee, but I am asking for the nomination."

Engler, 43, has been mayor for six years and also served a year on the city council. He said it will be tough trying to organize a campaign this late.

State Rep. Rod Jetton of Marble Hill, the GOP's point man in the statewide effort to take the House, said the party will provide Engler ample support.

"He is sacrificing a lot by putting his life on hold on short notice to do this," Jetton said. "We are not going to leave him out in the cold."

The party had invested heavily in Burcham's campaign, giving him $12,600 during a five-week period in July and August -- a decent amount in a short time for a House race.

Name recognition

Though the 106th District also includes parts of Perry and Ste. Genevieve counties, most of the district's voters are in St. Francois County. Jetton said Engler has the strong name recognition needed to carry the county and, therefore, the district.

Smith, the Democratic nominee, said the change in Republican opponent is an unexpected break, but won't alter his overall strategy.

"I think it will be beneficial for me since I'll no longer be facing an incumbent," Smith said. "But I'm going ahead with the game plan I already had in place."

Smith, 48, has been on the Farmington City Council for two years. He retired from the Army after 23 years and is a veteran of the Gulf War.

Bohnert, who got on the ballot as an independent via nominating petition, has twice run for state representative as a Republican, most recently in 1998. He planned on doing so again but decided he didn't want to split the Perry County vote when Cecilia Fallert of Perryville filed for the seat in the GOP primary. Burcham won a lopsided primary victory.

"I feel like I can do some good here in this situation," said Bohnert, a self-employed landscape designer.

Bohnert, 48, said he is running so Perry County has a chance to keep one of its own in the General Assembly. Previously united in a district served by term-limited state Rep. Pat Naeger, R-Perryville, the county was split by redistricting between the Farmington-dominated 106th District and the Jackson-centered 157th District.

Both Smith and Engler have pledged to serve the interests of Perry and Ste. Genevieve county residents, if elected.

mpowers@semissourian.com

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