Page Withdrawal Reopens Two Jefferson County Judicial Races Ahead of November Election
Republican and Libertarian committees select candidates after late changes to the Division 2 and Division 10 contests
By The Jefferson Review Staff
Two Jefferson County judicial races have undergone significant changes ahead of the November general election after former Circuit Judge Edward Page withdrew from the Division 2 race.
Page had been the Republican nominee for Division 2 of the 23rd Judicial Circuit. After his name was removed from the ballot through a court order, Missouri election law allowed the nominating committees of the state’s established political parties to select candidates for the newly vacant position.
Missouri recognizes the Republican, Democratic, and Libertarian parties as its three established political parties. All three have functioning central committees in Jefferson County and were eligible to participate in the process.
Under Section 115.363 of Missouri law, a party nominating committee may select a replacement candidate for the general election ballot when a party’s nominee withdraws within the time permitted by law.
The Jefferson County Republican Central Committee met on September 3 and selected Associate Circuit Judge Jeffrey Coleman as its candidate for Division 2.
Coleman has served as the associate circuit judge for Division 10 since January 2015. His move to the Division 2 race required him to withdraw from the Division 10 contest, creating a second judicial opening.
Coleman formally withdrew from the Division 10 race on September 4. The Republican committee then selected Jefferson County attorney Lucas Null as its candidate for that position.
The Jefferson County Libertarian Central Committee also acted following the reopening of the Division 10 race, selecting Judge Colby Smith-Hynes as the Libertarian candidate. Smith-Hynes will face Null in the November election.
The Jefferson County Democratic Central Committee considered potential candidates during the abbreviated filing period but did not select a candidate for either opening.
Coleman Selected for Division 2
Coleman is a lifelong Jefferson County resident with 26 years of litigation experience. He earned his undergraduate degree from Truman State University and his law degree from Drake University School of Law.
He began his legal career as an assistant prosecuting attorney in Jefferson County, serving from 2000 through 2006. From 2007 through 2014, he worked as an assistant circuit attorney for the City of St. Louis, where he prosecuted violent crimes and crimes against children.
Since taking the Division 10 bench in 2015, Coleman has presided over juvenile delinquency and dependency cases, criminal cases, and, at different times, civil, family, traffic, and treatment court dockets.
“His current court experience coupled with his background in criminal, civil, juvenile, and family law will allow him to have a seamless transition as a circuit judge in Division 2.”
Jefferson County Republican Central Committee Chair Sharon Swan
Null and Smith-Hynes Set for Division 10 Race
Null owns The Null Law Firm, LLC in Jefferson County. He earned an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Missouri and a law degree from Saint Louis University School of Law, where he served on the Saint Louis University Law Journal and Moot Court Board.
According to the Republican committee, Null has more than a decade of experience practicing in Missouri and Illinois state and federal courts. His work has included personal injury, civil rights, commercial litigation, probate matters, and the representation of individuals, businesses, municipalities, and healthcare providers.
Null has also served as a guardian ad litem in domestic, juvenile, and order of protection cases, as well as court-appointed counsel in juvenile and probate matters.
Smith-Hynes currently serves as deputy director of legal services for the Jefferson County Juvenile Office. He previously served as a municipal judge in Hillsboro and Herculaneum and currently serves as a municipal judge in Byrnes Mill and Pevely.
Smith-Hynes earned his law degree from the University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law and has worked as an attorney, guardian ad litem, mediator, and municipal judge during more than two decades in Jefferson County’s legal community.
He previously sought the Republican nomination for Division 12 in the August primary. His selection by the Libertarian committee places him on the November ballot as the Libertarian candidate for Division 10.
The sequence of withdrawals and committee selections means Jefferson County voters will see judicial candidates on the November ballot who were not originally nominated for those particular seats during the August primary.
The Jefferson Review reached out to Coleman, Null, and Smith-Hynes for interviews regarding their selections and the upcoming judicial races. No responses had been received at the time this article was published. The article will be updated if responses are received.
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