The Missouri House today killed off, by a vote of 69-83, a proposed constitutional amendment to change how the state selects its judges for the higher state courts and in urban areas.

The defeat was somewhat stunning, given the strong push by some Republicans — and conservative groups like the St. Louis Federalist Society and the (apparently now defunct) Adam Smith Foundation – to revamp the state’s 65-year-old setup and replace it with a selection system that would give more power to the governor and the state Senate.

As a result, no ballot proposal will be on the August or November ballot. The initiative-petition drive is also apparently dead.

State Democrats were celebrating the proposal’s defeat, with the House caucus noting that no Democrats voted to put it on the ballot. (Actually, the caucus was in error. Our own Lee Logan reports that Juanita Head Walton voted for the
measure, and was the only Dem to do so.

A number of prominent Republicans, including former state Supreme Court judge Chip Robertson, also opposed the changes in the current system. Robertson was a leader in the effort to block the amendment.

Still awaiting word on whether Chip, or someone/something else, gets the credit for today’s vote and demise of the initiative.