In what may be the most contentious local race for the Missouri General Assembly, two Republican candidates vie for the 27th Senate District seat being vacated by Wayne Wallingford due to term limits.

Polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.

The candidates are two Missouri House representatives who cannot run for re-election to their current seats: Rep. Holly Rehder of Scott City and Rep. Kathy Swan of Cape Girardeau.

According to required financial disclosure documents filed July 15 with the Missouri Ethics Commission by the GOP hopefuls, a total of $417,277 has been spent on the race, with Rehder outspending Swan by more than a 2-1 margin.

Both seasoned House members use alliterative invective in political advertisements to attack the other.

Rehder calls her opponent, "Swampy Swan," accusing her of having missed hundreds of votes and of blocking protections for gun owners.

Swan calls Rehder a "liberal lobbyist," suggesting Rehder is sympathetic to socialism and wants to raise taxes.

The winner of the August 4 primary will face Democrat Donnie Owens of Marquand in November.

Rehder is completing eight years of service in the Missouri House representing the 148th District.

Rehder, 50, calls herself "honest and hardworking," noting after receiving her GED, it took her 17 years to obtain an undergraduate degree from Southeast Missouri State University because she could not go to college full-time and support her family. She and her husband started a small communications business in 2004.

Rehder, who has pushed for passage of a bill to create a prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) during her tenure in the House, said of her time in Jefferson City: "I'm proud of my work to fight bloated government, to protect our Second Amendment rights and to speak up for the unborn."

Swan is also finishing eight years of service in the Missouri House representing the 147th District.

Swan, 69, has experience running a small wireless communications company and spent 26 years working as a nurse. Swan said "honesty, attention to detail and following through on commitments are critical for work and for life."

Swan, an advocate in the legislature for workforce development, previously served on Cape Girardeau City Council and the Cape Girardeau School Board.

Swan said of her time in the General Assembly: "I have worked to encourage economic growth, to get government out of the way and to protect the sanctity of life."

The six-county district covers the Southeast Missouri counties of Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Madison, Mississippi, Perry and Scott.