State Rep. Margaret Donnelly has decided to ask for a recount in the race for the Democratic nominee for Attorney General. According to the unofficial final results, State Senator Chris Koster appears to have won the four-way contest with 34.3% of the vote to Donnelly’s 34.1%, a difference of just 783 votes.

From Donnelly’s campaign today:

Representative Margaret Donnelly, 2008 candidate for Attorney General in the state of Missouri, today announced her intention to file a formal request for a recount of the Democratic ballots cast in the state’s primary election August 5. Donnelly was second to Chris Koster by a 0.2% margin, with a 794-vote differential out of more than 346,000 votes cast. (Results are still unofficial until they are certified by the Secretary of State.) With the smallest margin in a statewide race in Missouri history, a one-vote swing in as few as 25% of the precincts in the state would result in a Donnelly victory.

“Voting is the heart of the democratic process, and we are pursuing a recount as that is the fairest way possible to make sure the people’s voice through the election is most accurately heard,” Ms. Donnelly said. “I have received encouragement to pursue the recount from an overwhelming number of Democratic primary voters. At this stage the recount becomes a legal procedure.”

Lathrop & Gage L.C. has been hired to represent the Donnelly campaign in this matter. Member Richard Rhyne of the firm’s Kansas City office has served as chair of the Donnelly for Attorney General Greater Kansas City-Area Steering Committee, and has handled election recount matters in his legal practice.

“Lathrop & Gage has handled election recounts like this many times before,” Ms. Donnelly said. Counted among those matters would be the Dolan v. Powers recount of the Johnson County, Missouri Auditor’s race, a precedent-setting case that set the standard for election recounts since Missouri enacted the Uniform Counting Standards. “As candidates are able to request a recount whenever their losing margin is less than 1 percentage point, and given the slim margin separating the candidates at the top, we feel it is in the best interest of the state and of all those who voted to make sure there is no error in tabulating the final results and that the votes of all citizens are counted for this important race.”

Margaret Donnelly calls on St. Louis Police Board to ask for new Independent Investigation

The Citizens of St. Louis deserve to know all of the facts

ST. LOUIS – Representative Margaret Donnelly called on the St. Louis Police Board to immediately ask for a new independent investigation into the use of impounded cars by police and by Police Chief Joe Mokwa’s daughter. “The people deserve a thorough and independent investigation and today I am calling on the Police Board of St. Louis to ask the State Highway Patrol to do that investigation” said Margaret Donnelly.

Recent revelations involving Police Department practices and Chief of Police Mokwa’s role in the use of impounded vehicles have raised serious concerns. Even though an independent investigation had previously occurred, new information as reported in the Post Dispatch about the police chief’s role suggests that all of the facts have yet to come out. “ The citizens of St. Louis need to have confidence restored in their police department and the way to accomplish that is for the Police Board to initiate a new investigation with all of the new information thoroughly reviewed,” concluded Donnelly.

Representative Donnelly is a candidate for Attorney General.

As many as 20,000 black men answered the “Call to Oneness” on Sunday. The crowd filled the street and stretched for a mile as the procession of men marched through the streets of north St. Louis calling for an end to the violence that has plagued the area.

Aldermanic President Lewis Reed, 4th Ward Alderman Sam Moore, and State Rep. Rodney Hubbard led the crowd from the Old Sears Building on North Kingshighway down Page Blvd, winding through streets to Tandy Park in the 4th Ward.

Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder joined Reed, Moore, and Hubbard at the front of the procession.

Groups of women cheered the men on along the march route.

Attorney General candidate Margaret Donnelly was among the candidates that attended the historic event.

The fight for Missouri’s top law enforcement job has come to the wards of St. Louis City. On Thursday, two open Democratic ward organizations voted to endorse Attorney General candidates.

Two of the three leading Democrats running for A.G. addressed the meeting of the 25th Ward Democrats at Resurrection Church in south St. Louis Thursday night. State Rep. Margaret Donnelly of St. Louis County and State Rep. Jeff Harris of Columbia both spoke about the power and influence of the Office of Attorney General and how they would use it to better the lives of Missourians.

In the end, the 25th Ward voted to endorse Harris. One week earlier, Harris, who is being helped by 14th Ward Alderman Stephen Gregali, also picked up the support of the 15th Ward Democrats.

The same night as the 25th Ward endorsement, Democrats in the city’s largest voting ward, the 16th Ward, voted to endorse State Senator Chris Koster for A.G.

UPDATE: With both Chris Koster AND Margaret Donnely dropping out of the debate, the Young Dems have cancelled the event all together.

Jason Rosenbaum of the Columbia Tribune reports that Democratic Attorney General candidate Chris Koster* will not be at next week’s debate hosted by the Truman State Young Democrats.

James Lang, the president of the Truman State Young Democrats, e-mailed me today telling me that Sen. Chris Koster, D-Harrisonville, has backed out of next Thursday’s attorney general debate.

“Since we spoke last, Koster went from confirmed to tentatively coming to not coming at all,” Lang said in an e-mail.

Lang said Koster cited a “scheduling conflict” as a reason for not going to the debate held at Truman State University.

A Koster campaign spokeswoman later confirmed to Rosenbaum that a scheduling conflict will prevent the Koster from attending Thursday’s debate.

She did say that Koster will participate in a May 22 debate at CCP in Kansas City and a May 30 debate at Missouri Bar function in Lake Ozark.

Two of Koster’s opponents, Margaret Donnelly of St. Louis and Jeff Harris of Columbia, are expected to attend Thursday’s debate, which Rosenbaum will help moderate.

*Full disclosure: Chris Koster is a client (website design) of PubDef.net publisher Antonio D. French