Laclede County Sample Ballot & Voter Guide 2026
Who is running for Missouri House, Missouri Senate and Circuit Judge, 26th Judicial Circuit, and more, with bios, priorities and campaign sites.
Judges
Circuit Judge, 26th Judicial Circuit, Division 3Aaron Koeppen (R)
Unopposed: still on your ballot.
Aaron Koeppen (Republican) is on the November 3, 2026 ballot for Circuit Judge, 26th Judicial Circuit, Division 3.
Aaron Koeppen
Aaron Koeppen is a judge of Missouri's 26th Judicial Circuit, listed as Judge Aaron Koeppen on the Laclede County Clerk's elected officials page. Per a 2020 Lake Expo candidate profile, he had been an associate circuit judge for nearly ten years, helped set up a Veterans Treatment Court serving the circuit's five counties, and taught evening college courses at Columbia College and OTC Lebanon. No campaign website was found as of October 4, 2026.
Aaron Koeppen (Republican) is the only certified candidate for this partisan circuit judgeship, which serves Camden, Laclede, Miller, Moniteau, Morgan counties, per the Missouri Secretary of State's certified general election candidate list. Circuit judges in nonpartisan court plan circuits appear as retention questions instead.
Full race pageBy address
These seats are elected by district; only the district covering your address is on your ballot.
Laclede County is split across 2 Missouri House districts.
Find your districts by addressMissouri House: 2 districtsDistricts 141, 142
Missouri House District 141Melissa Schmidt (R) · Darrel (Mike) Swofford (D)
Melissa Schmidt
Melissa Schmidt represents District 141 in the Missouri House of Representatives, first elected in 2024, per the Missouri House member page. Schmidt is a state-certified childcare center director with more than 30 years of experience working with children and families, and has previously worked as a Legislative Assistant within the House. She serves on the Lebanon R-3 Early Childhood Advisory Board and is active with Kiwanis and Rotary clubs. No campaign website was found as of September 20, 2026.
Darrel (Mike) Swofford
No campaign website was found as of September 20, 2026.
Melissa Schmidt (Republican), Darrel (Mike) Swofford (Democratic) meet on the November 3 ballot; Melissa Schmidt is the sitting member per the House roster. Missouri has no runoffs; the August 4 primary winner of each party is the nominee, and unopposed nominees still print. The field is the Missouri Secretary of State's certified general election candidate list (certified August 25, 2026). This seat is elected by district; only the district covering your address appears on your ballot.
Full race pageMissouri House District 142Jeff Brown (R) · Josh Ray (D)
Jeff Brown
Top priorities
From the campaign site
- Protecting life
- Standing with law enforcement
- Defending the Second Amendment
About Jeff Brown
Jeff Brown is a Lebanon small business owner, psychologist and published author running for Missouri State Representative, per the campaign site. Brown grew up working in the family business Quality Drycleaners and graduated from Lebanon High School, per the campaign site.
Josh Ray
No campaign website was found as of September 20, 2026.
Jeff Brown (Republican), Josh Ray (Democratic) meet on the November 3 ballot. Missouri has no runoffs; the August 4 primary winner of each party is the nominee, and unopposed nominees still print. The field is the Missouri Secretary of State's certified general election candidate list (certified August 25, 2026). This seat is elected by district; only the district covering your address appears on your ballot.
Full race pageMissouri Senate District 16Bill Hardwick (R) · Virginia Staabs (D)
Bill Hardwick
Bill Hardwick currently serves as the state representative for House District 121, covering part of Pulaski County and Fort Leonard Wood, first elected to the Missouri House in 2020, per The Missouri Times. An Iraq War veteran who led combat route-clearance patrols in Baghdad, he served 24 years in the Missouri National Guard and is a University of Missouri law graduate who has worked as a prosecutor, per the same source. No campaign website was found as of September 20, 2026.
Virginia Staabs
Virginia Staabs is a Richland, Missouri resident with more than a decade of experience as a notary public and signing agent in multiple states, per her campaign site. She founded 'What's Up in Missouri Elections,' an organization that helps residents understand and engage in the electoral process, per the same source.
Bill Hardwick (Republican), Virginia Staabs (Democratic) meet on the November 3 ballot. Missouri has no runoffs; the August 4 primary winner of each party is the nominee, and unopposed nominees still print. The field is the Missouri Secretary of State's certified general election candidate list (certified August 25, 2026). This seat is elected by district; only the district covering your address appears on your ballot.
Full race pageVoting info and more
Voting info and more
Verify your ballot with the official election office.
Cross-check every race and candidate with the official election office. Official sources are the final word.
Missouri nominees were set by the August 4 primary (plurality, no runoffs) and meet on the November 3 ballot; unopposed nominees still print. All 163 state House seats, the even-numbered state Senate districts, partisan circuit judgeships in non-plan circuits and the county offices on the four-year off-presidential cycle (presiding commissioner, clerk, circuit clerk, auditor, recorder, collector, prosecuting attorney) are up; sheriff, assessor, treasurer and the associate commissioners were elected in 2024, per the Secretary of State.
Who is on the ballot in Laclede County, Missouri on November 3, 2026?
Laclede County sample ballot 2026: who is running for circuit judge, missouri house and missouri senate, with bios, priorities and campaign sites. Every candidate profile on this page names the official filing or campaign source it came from.
When is the 2026 general election in Missouri?
Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Registration deadlines, early voting dates and mail ballot rules for Missouri are listed on the Missouri election hub. Missouri election hub →
How do I see my exact Laclede County ballot?
Enter your ZIP code in the lookup for the statewide and congressional races on every ballot in the county, or a full street address to add the county, city and district contests for that location. Look up your ballot →
Missouri statewide racesEvery Missouri race on this county's ballot.All Missouri ballot measures7 statewide ballot measuresMissouri judges50 tracked judges on the retention ballot