Where's My Caucus, If My Primary Vote Didn't Count?

Here's a caucus locations update since a couple of weeks ago, when .

To recap, , so they will utilize the caucuses to decide which candidates get the GOP presidential delegates to the conventions.

Since that time, the Missouri Republican Party has announced on its website the dates and times for various caucuses around the St. Louis area.

St. Louis County Republicans will be caucusing by township at 10 a.m. on March 17. 

For Chesterfield's registered Republicans: Westminster Christian Academy, 800 Maryville Centre Dr., 63017 (map.) It's on the south side of Highway 40/64, just east of Woods Mill/141.

Check the Missouri Republican Party’s web site for other specific locations.

In neighboring St. Charles County, caucuses are 10 a.m. at  in St. Charles. Jefferson County will be holding its caucuses March 17, 10 a.m. at Hillsboro R-3 Intermediate School in Hillsboro.

But, St. Louis City and Jackson County will hold caucuses on March 24 to accommodate St. Patrick’s Day festivities.

Subscribe to the free Chesterfield Patch Daily News for updates

Who is in more local races?

The kickoff of Missouri’s biennial filing day is often littered with surprises. But this year’s iteration may have taken the cake.

Obviously, the biggest news is  in the First Congressional District. The St. Louis City Democrat had considered running , but instead decided to enter into a race that will have him battling U.S. Rep. Lacy Clay (D-MO).

That race will be closely watched, since the district encompasses all of St. Louis City and some of St. Louis County with a heavy Democratic leaning. In essence, winning the Democratic primary is tantamount to election.

An auxiliary effect of Carnahan’s decision means there probably won’t be a major Democratic candidate running in the Second District. That’s the area where former Missouri Republican Chairwoman Ann Wagner and former Webster Groves Councilman Randy Jotte filed Tuesday to run.

Wagner and Jotte will be joined by a pair of lesser-known candidates from St. Charles County. St. Peters residents John Morris and James O. Baker filed to run as Republicans in the district that encompasses St. Louis County, St. Charles County and Jefferson County.

Baker, by the way, got 17 percent in 2010 when he ran in a GOP primary against Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO). Luetkemeyer, who didn’t have a Democratic opponent in 2010 after a narrow victory in 2008, ended up with 83 percent of the vote in that primary.

That doesn’t mean the winner of the Second District primary will run unopposed. Three Democrats, St. Louis resident Bill Haas, Eureka resident George Weber and Ballwin resident Marshall Works, signed up on the first day of filing. But a candidate without name recognition or a propensity to raise a lot of funds could have trouble gaining traction in the GOP-leaning district.

Click here to see a list of candidates that have signed up so far for statewide office, the state legislature and the judiciary. And for information’s sake, here are interactive maps of the new House and Senate districts.

Waiting games

Some candidates for state Senate from St. Louis County may not have a definite idea of where they will be running, yet. That’s because a tentative state Senate map won’t be finalized until after a bipartisan commission votes on the plan in March.

Secretary of State Robin Carnahan had urged candidates to hold off on filing for state Senate races until the map was officially approved. While some have taken her advice, others have decided to file anyway.

What's a Blue Book? It's only digital

On a topic that has little to do with elections, Secretary of State Robin Carnahan's office in late February put out the state's Blue Book in digital form.

This edition of the Blue Book will only be available online in an electronic format, as directed by the Missouri General Assembly. You can take a gander at the book by clicking here.

The comprehensive guide contains a cavalcade of information about the state's executive, legislative and judicial branches. Included are short biographies of all of the state's officials.

Here's how the state website describes the Blue Book:

"For more than 100 years, Missouri has published the Official Manual of the State of Missouri, commonly known as the "Blue Book." Here, you can find detailed information on local, state, and federal governments, as well as stories, essays, and pictures that help preserve the state's heritage."