[1] Her nomination to the position attracted a good deal of attention, and it was required of the Missouri Attorney General to approve the appointment before she could begin her duties.

Nevertheless, she remained on the ballot, defeating Republican Julius Fischer by more than four hundred votes,[1] 53 percent of the final tally in total;[7] he appears not to have seriously contested the election, expecting an easy victory.

[8] Fischer challenged the result, but was denied by the circuit court judge of Greene County;[1] he was also ordered to pay her legal fees.

[8] Baxter soon earned a reputation as among the state's best county clerks,[1] and beyond her regular duties assisted in the planning and initial construction of the current courthouse building, completed in 1895.

[6] Nevertheless, 1894 was a landslide year for Republicans nationwide, and Baxter was among the Democrats who lost their positions, in part because her husband had been hired as a deputy clerk and some opponents objected to the fact that both were being paid by the county.

[1] She also served, for a time, as the secretary to James Thomas Quarles, founding dean of the School of Fine Arts at the University of Missouri.