MO legislature primaries: Rep. Jamie Gragg, Sen. Mike Moon to face challengers in November

In the Missouri Legislature, 17 Senate seats and all House of Representative seats are up for grabs in this year's election. Here are the results of the contested races in the Ozarks.

Missouri Senate District 29

State Sen. Mike Moon won the Republican primary for his District 29 seat against Susan Haralson. Moon secured 77% of the vote.

Moon is a Republican from Ash Grove and has been the District 29 senator since 2020. Before serving in the Missouri Senate, Moon represented the 157th District in the Missouri House from 2013 to 2020.

"When you really think this through, you know we have our eyes open but it doesn't stop there. Just because we have our eyes open, we need to keep them open, continue putting good things in our minds so we can convince others of what truth is," Moon said during a speech live-streamed on his Facebook page. "You've heard me say this before: Government is not the answer to all things."

Ron Monnig is the sole Democratic challenger and wants to "make things easier for area families, not use (their) lives to score political points," according to his website.

Missouri House District 132

Stephanos Freeman won the Republican primary against Bernadean McAfee with 59% of the vote to win his party's nomination in the race for the District 132 seat currently occupied by Democratic Rep. Crystal Quade.

Freeman previously ran for this seat in 2022. He is from Willard and a lifelong Springfield-area resident. According to his author bio on Amazon, Freeman has a bachelor's degree in sociology from Missouri State University.

Jeremy Dean, the Democratic candidate seeking to replace Quade, wants to focus on health care and reproductive rights, nondiscrimination, education, jobs, local control and public safety, according to his website.

More: Springfield's Crystal Quade wins Democratic primary for MO governor

Missouri House District 138

Burt Whaley won his Republican primary against Tom Franiak with 72% of the vote in District 138, which covers parts of Christian and Stone counties.

Whaley is a 20-year United States Army Veteran and spent 28 years in education. He wants to improve public safety for all Missourians, protect the First and Second amendments and address financial vulnerability.

Rep. Brad Hudson, Republican, has served the area in the Missouri legislature since 2018.

There are no Democratic party candidates.

Missouri House District 140

Rep. Jamie Ray Gragg won against Danny Garrison in Tuesday's Republican primary with 62% of the vote in his northeast Christian County district.

Gragg was elected as the 140th District representative in November 2022. He serves on the Children and Families Committee, the Elementary and Secondary Education Committee, the Healthcare Reform Committee and the subcomittee on appropriations – education.

The Democratic Party candidate is Julia Curran, a longtime Christian County resident who wants to focus on jobs, economic resiliency, education, health care and clean water.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Two incumbents among Ozarks-area MO Legislature primary race winners