John Paul Tomko Enters State Representative Race

A fourth Republican has entered the August primary race for Fifth District State Representative.

On the first official day of filings for the primary, Chaplain and businessman John Paul Tomko of Hannibal submitted paperwork to run for the seat currently held by Lindell Shumake.

Shumake cannot run for reelection because of term limits. He will be running for Brian Munzlinger’s term limited seat in the Missouri Senate.

This is Tomko’s second run for political office. He ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Hannibal city council in 2016.

Tomko joins Palmyra Mayor Loren Graham, Monroe City Mayor Neal Minor and Hannibal-LaGrange University professor and attorney Louis Riggs in the primary.

No Democrats have yet filed for the seat.

Missouri’s Fifth District covers Marion, Shelby and northern Monroe counties.