ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - In a state dominated by ads for U.S. Senate and gubernatorial candidates, Missouri’s race to replace Secretary of State Robin Carnahan was overshadowed at times.

But it was Democrat Jason Kander who came out on top Tuesday night, beating his fellow Missouri State Representative, Republican Shane Schoeller.

A recent poll conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research painted the Secretary of State’s race as one of the tightest in Missouri. Forty-three percent of those polled favored Schoeller compared to forty percent for Kander and sixteen percent who remained undecided.

A hallmark of Schoeller’s campaign had been his push for voter ID, a contentious issue in the state, while Kander has opposed attempts to pass voter ID legislation.

Kander has charged that Schoeller ran afoul of state ethics laws because a family business operated a state driver’s license office during part of the Republican’s tenure in Jefferson City. Kander contends the dealings pose a conflict.

After Kander’s criticisms about the license office, Schoeller’s campaign questioned a $349.42 state tax lien against Kander that was expunged in September 2011. The Missouri Department of Revenue in a letter to Kander about the tax lien apologized and stated that the agency had erred in estimated billings during the first half of 2010 and had failed to release the lien.