Missouri State Auditor Race 2026: Fitzpatrick vs. Wilson, the Records
State Auditor
One statewide office is on Missouri’s 2026 ballot, and it is the scorekeeper of everything else.
On candidates we publish records, votes, donors, dollars, and dates, and nothing else. No endorsements, no scores, no adjectives. The judgment is yours.
📌 The Stakes Are HighThree candidates are on the November 3 ballot: incumbent Scott Fitzpatrick (R), Quentin Wilson (D), and Dustin Coffell (L). The winner audits every public dollar in the state for four years, including Jackson County’s assessment system and whatever happens to the state budget if Amendment 7 passes.
The auditor’s office has jurisdiction over local assessment operations like the one that upended Jackson County, and in April 2026 it rated the county’s property tax appeals process “Poor.” It was also the auditor’s office, in 2020, that documented COMBAT money spent renovating a building the county then sold for ten dollars. Quiet office, loud consequences.
🗝️ The RecordScott FitzpatrickRepublican · Incumbent
State auditor since January 2023; state treasurer, 2019 to 2023; previously chair of the Missouri House Budget Committee. Jackson County record: a December 2023 initial review of the 2023 assessment; subpoenas issued in February 2025 to the county assessor and its data vendor, later enforced in court; an April 23, 2026 audit rating the county’s appeals process “Poor,” finding it violated state law and county code, and finding that 35 percent of reviewed cases did not receive timely hearing notice. His words in the audit’s public release: “taxpayers in Jackson County got a raw deal.” The 2019–2020 COMBAT audits predate his tenure.
Quentin WilsonDemocrat
Missouri director of revenue beginning in 1998 under Gov. Mel Carnahan; cabinet director for Gov. Bob Holden beginning in 2001; most recently St. Louis County director of revenue. Won the August 4 Democratic primary over Gregory Upchurch.
Dustin CoffellLibertarian
Hazelwood resident with a background in accounting; chair of the Missouri Libertarian Party.
Scott FitzpatrickRepublican · Incumbent
Says the office should independently assess the state’s finances, warn policymakers about looming problems, and root out waste, fraud, and abuse. His campaign lists overseeing school districts, measuring local government performance, and tracking what taxes pay for as priorities for a second term.
Quentin WilsonDemocrat
Wants the office to take a more active role in finding ways for state government to save money and perform better. His campaign says he would push state agencies toward responsible spending and consult teachers, healthcare workers, and other stakeholders on the best uses of state money.
Dustin CoffellLibertarian
Has no campaign website. On his campaign Facebook page, he says he wants the lowest taxes possible for Missourians.
Sources: KCUR (October 14, 2026) and the Columbia Missourian.
Every candidate’s campaign finance reports are public at the Missouri Ethics Commission.
✊🏾 What You Can DoThis is the race everyone skips at the bottom of the ballot. Do not skip it. The people counting on drop-off are counting on yours.
