Longtime Platte County prosecutor withdraws from ballot after months of infighting
Update: After this story was initially published, the Platte County Board of Elections announced that it will reopen the candidate filing window for the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney next week, from April 7-10, in order to give additional candidates an opportunity to join the race.
The longest-serving Platte County prosecutor announced Tuesday night that he will no longer seek reelection for another term after withdrawing his name from the ballot just minutes before the filing deadline.
Eric Zahnd, who has served as the county prosecutor since 2003, withdrew his name from the August primary ballot on Tuesday five minutes before the 5 p.m. filing deadline, according to candidate filing records. Then just one minute later, his longtime colleague, First Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Mark Gibson, filed to enter the race.
Since Tuesday was supposed to be the last day candidates could file for election for the August primary, the move would have left Gibson, who has served as the first assistant prosecutor for 22 years, to run unopposed to succeed Zahnd. The two led a press conference on Wednesday morning to discuss Zahnd passing the torch to Gibson.
However, that’s not set in stone quite yet. In such cases when a candidate who had previously filed to run withdraws within two days of the filing deadline, Missouri election law instructs local election boards to reopen the filing window. Platte County will do next week, from April 7-10, allowing other candidates the possibility of entering the race.
Zahnd will finish out his current term, which ends Dec. 31.
“Serving the people as their prosecutor has been my great privilege and solemn responsibility for more than two decades,” Zahnd said in a statement. “This job has brought great joy to my life and also considerable pain along the way.”
In recent months, Zahnd has been at the center of an ongoing dispute among Republican officials in Platte County revolving around the county commission’s decision to increase pay for county employees by just 2.5% instead of the 5% recommended by the county auditor.
Zahnd, along with Platte County Sheriff Erik Holland, have called the commission’s decision an effort to “defund Platte County law enforcement and prosecution operations.” They’ve specifically criticized Presiding Commissioner Scott Fricker’s role in, and defense of, the decision.
In February, Zahnd publicly revoked his endorsement of Fricker’s reelection campaign in a speech before the county commission and then through a press release including screenshots of text message exchanges among Zahnd, Fricker and Holland. Zahnd also filed a report with the sheriff’s office alleging Fricker illegally tampered with his county email.
In a motion to the county circuit court, Zahnd said he believes Fricker illegally accessed Zahnd’s email account and retrieved a copy of a news release, which Fricker allegedly attached to a complaint he filed against Zahnd to the Missouri Ethics Commission.
Fricker, in March, also withdrew his candidacy for reelection.
This story was originally published April 1, 2026 at 11:53 AM.
