The votes are in. Donald Trump outperforms Josh Hawley in Missouri State Fair straw poll
In a red state like Missouri, the results of the traditional straw poll at the Missouri State Fair tend to offer few surprises and this year is no different. But a record number of rural Missourians wanted to have a say.
All three Republican candidates won landslide victories in the unscientific poll taken this month during the 11-day fair which ended Aug. 18. But some won by larger margins than others.
In their races, Donald Trump and Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, who is running for governor, outperformed Sen. Josh Hawley, who will face Democrat Lucas Kunce in November.
The winners have the backing of the Missouri Farm Bureau, which has run the straw poll at the fair in Sedalia for 42 years. The results were released this week.
Two years ago, about 1,400 votes were cast for then-Attorney General Eric Schmitt running for U.S. Senate, a race he won three months later. This year fair guests cast more than 2,200 votes.
The farm bureau set up a computer tablet in its building where guests could buy a cup of cold milk for 25 cents, register to win a John Deere lawn mower and vote.
Staff members reported the fair felt “busy” this year.
The presidential race went down like this: Trump 72.2%; Harris 22.5% and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. 5.3%. Votes were cast before Kennedy suspended his campaign and endorsed Trump.
The farm bureau endorsed Trump in 2016 and 2020.
Kehoe earned the highest percentage of votes cast, 73.6% against Democratic House Minority Leader Crystal Quade.
Hawley defeated Kunce with 64.1% of the votes.
In the bureau’s 2018 straw poll Hawley won by nearly 46 points over then-Sen. Claire McCaskill, earning 72.8% of votes before defeating her on Election Day.
Hawley and Kunce made headlines at the fair this month when they got into a heated face-to-face exchange arguing about who was avoiding who and whether they would debate.
The bureau encouraged Missourians to pay attention to local and state races down ballot that don’t grab the attention of marquee matches.
The group “prides itself on its grassroots structure and county strength, so it’s as important as ever to be educated on your entire ballot,” the bureau said in its statement.
It encouraged voters to visit their county clerk’s offices or websites to see sample ballots.
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