ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — Candidates are hitting the ground hard in these final hours before election day on Tuesday.
The two men on the ticket for St. Louis County Executive, the incumbent, Sam Page and his opponent Mark Mantovani, spent time rallying voters all weekend.
St. Louis County Executive candidate Mark Mantovani (R) joined the growing number of county residents who voted early on Friday, sharing a hopeful outlook heading into election day.
“I'm excited to get this thing submitted to the voters and to hear what the voters think. I think we've run a campaign that I'm very proud of. We've tried to stay positive. We've tried to talk about our view of the community, and I'm excited to see how the community feels about this,” Mantovani said.
Incumbent County Executive Sam Page said he’ll be voting on election day and is expecting a lot more people to cast ballots this year.
“I think you're gonna have a bump in voter turnout this year, much more than we have in mid-cycle elections in the past. There's really a lot at stake in our country. And we're talking about the heart and soul of democracy, access to abortion rights, responsible gun legislation. There's a lot on the ballot this time, and I really encourage everyone to get out and vote,” Page said.
Both candidates faced off in a debate earlier this week.
They focused on both national and local issues including online sales tax, something Missouri doesn’t collect right now.
“We would consider going back to the voters to look at the question of an online sales tax, which is unfair to our local small businesses because their customers pay that tax and services that are purchased online, do not,” Page said.
Mantovani said he doesn’t think that’s something St. Louis County needs.
“I absolutely reject increasing taxes until I have an opportunity run my own budget. So would I favor the online tax at this point? No, I would not because I think there's waste, fraud and abuse there,” Mantovani said.
Find more information about the Missouri general election through 5 On Your Side's voter guide here.