Republican candidate concedes 151st House contest

DEXTER, Mo. -- Citing a desire to keep the Stoddard County Republican Party unified, a GOP candidate for a state House seat has decided not to challenge the results of Tuesday's primary.

Republican candidate Bob Thrower on Friday conceded the race to Dennis Fowler of Advance, Mo., who is superintendent of the Stoddard County Juvenile Detention Center. Thrower, a Stoddard County businessman, could have challenged the vote by asking for a recount since he and Fowler were separated by less than 1 percent of the votes cast in the GOP primary for the 151st House District seat. Fowler won by only eight votes in the district that includes Stoddard County and a small portion of Scott County.

Thrower's potential challenge had become tied to another close Stoddard County race. Steve Jordan, a Republican candidate for county commission, lost by a single vote to Danny Talkington in the primary, and reached out to Thrower on Thursday saying that he would not contest the commission election if Thrower would decline to challenge the 151st District result.

In a news release, Jordan said that he accepted his results "like a man," and challenged Thrower to do the same.

In a letter to Jordan, received Friday morning, Fowler said, "Any contest of any primary election will only serve to divide our party further. It is for this reason that I sincerely ask that you do not pursue the course of action you are proposing. ..."

"Should Mr. Thrower wish to proceed with his lawsuit in our election that is his statutory right," Fowler said in the letter. "Please do not stand in Mr. Thrower's way on my account."

Thrower's announcement came on the heels of Fowler's letter becoming public Friday. Just before noon Friday, Thrower issued a release of his own, officially conceding the contest.

"After careful consideration of all the facts and issues surrounding the race for 151st state rep, I have decided it is in my best interest to concede," Thrower said. "I am authorized a recount, but will not seek one. I have tremendous confidence in Stoddard County Clerk, Joe Watson, and believe that a recount in this county would be a waste of time and energy. I'm also confident that a recount of roughly 500 ballots in Scott County won't produce any errors."

Thrower had questioned the result of the primary, saying that a person voting in Chaffee, Mo., received an improper ballot that didn't have the 151st District race on it. The 151st District includes a small portion of Scott County, and at least one voting precinct was partially in the 151st and the 148th House District.

Scott County Clerk Rita Milam said that the problems only affected one voter just after polls opened at 6 a.m. and were remedied before they could affect the election's outcome.

With Friday's concession, Thrower said the ballot issue in Chaffee was his only concern with the election process, and he threw his support to Dennis Fowler in the upcoming general election.

"I have no idea how many people received bad ballots, and cannot receive that data without a court order. Whether or not the issue would result in an eight vote swing in my favor is something I cannot determine," Thrower said in his news release. "Dennis won that precinct and the bad ballots probably impacted him as much as they did me. There are too many unknowns for me to have any confidence that painful legal proceedings would result in a change to the certified results."

Thrower concludes, "The impact that a lawsuit will have on the Republicans within this area is my major concern and I don't want to destroy the gains that this party has made over the past decade."

Fowler's Democratic opponent in November will be organized labor representative Ryan William Holder of Advance.

Pertinent address:

Dexter, MO

Advance, MO

Chaffee, MO