New Madrid County, Missouri Holds Primary Election with Multiple Races and Constitutional Amendments

New Madrid County voters will decide on four state constitutional amendments and select party nominees for a slate of local offices in the Aug. 4 primary election. Voters will request a party ballot (Republican, Democratic, Libertarian or Non‑Partisan) and the Republican ballot includes the only county‑wide races. Associate Circuit Judge Brandon M. Sanchez is challenged by Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Amy Green Preyer; the winner will run unopposed in November. Three Republicans – Ryan Brandon Riley, Jon Hunter and John Riley – compete for the party’s nomination as presiding commissioner, also facing no November opposition. Unopposed Republican candidates for county offices include clerk Nathanial L. Bock, circuit clerk Shannon Harris Landers, recorder of deeds Kayla Phillips, treasurer Renee Westmoreland Smith, prosecuting attorney Andrew Lawson and collector of revenue Toni Lee Phillips. The ballot also lists statewide Republican nominees for auditor, state representative and other offices, with Democratic and Libertarian candidates listed for comparison. The constitutional amendments address conservation funding, county assessors, citizen‑initiated amendments and state income tax provisions.

Separately, a local "Looking Back in Time" column revisited historic July 25 events in New Madrid County, from the 1966 4‑H Fair and 1986 promotion of Sikeston DPS training supervisor Drew Juden, to a 2016 appointment of Dr. Sam Duncan as superintendent of the New Madrid County R‑1 school district. The retrospective highlighted the county’s long‑standing community activities and leadership changes over the past six decades.