Author
Jason Hancock has spent two decades covering politics and policy for news organizations across the Midwest, with most of that time focused on the Missouri statehouse as a reporter for The Kansas City Star. A three-time National Headliner Award winner, he helped launch The Missouri Independent in October 2020.
Missouri Independent is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
Josh Hawley draws rebuke over use of private jets for Missouri Senate campaign
By: Jason Hancock - October 14, 2024
One of Josh Hawley’s favorite lines of attack during his first run for U.S. Senate in 2018 was to lambaste his Democratic opponent for using a private jet to travel the state. “I say, ‘Look, I’m driving everywhere, why don’t you drive?’ She can’t do it,” Hawley told Politico during the 2018 campaign about then-Sen. […]
Missouri Chamber backs Democrats in two swing state Senate districts
By: Jason Hancock - October 10, 2024
Democrats hoping to chip away at the GOP supermajority in the Missouri Senate got a big boost last week when its candidates in two swing districts won the endorsement of the state’s largest business advocacy group. In a third hotly contested district, the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry chose not to weigh in at […]
Josh Hawley, Lucas Kunce agree to Missouri Senate debate just days before election
By: Jason Hancock - September 18, 2024
After weeks of tussling between the two campaigns, Republican U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley and Democrat Lucas Kunce are finally set to square off in a televised debate less than a week before voters head to the polls. The debate will air Oct 31 on Missouri Nexstar stations, including KTVI/KPLR-St. Louis, WDAF-Kansas City, KRBK-Springfield and KSN-Joplin […]
Dean Plocher’s PAC paid $75K to lawyers defending him over whistleblower allegations
By: Jason Hancock - September 17, 2024
A political action committee created to support outgoing Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher’s political career paid attorneys defending him against allegations of misconduct almost $75,000 in late August. According to campaign disclosure forms filed earlier this month, a PAC called Missouri United paid David Steelman and his law firm $21,000 on Aug. 23. The PAC […]
Lame-duck Missouri governor still raising campaign cash with the help of lobbyist
By: Jason Hancock - September 17, 2024
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson is the guest of honor Tuesday night at a fundraiser for a pair of PACs at the home of a longtime Jefferson City lobbyist. The event is being advertised as a “celebration of public service” for the Republican governor and First Lady Teresa Parson. It’s hosted by Steve Tilley, a longtime […]
25 fundraisers in three days: Veto session offers Missouri lawmakers a chance to raise money
By: Jason Hancock - September 9, 2024
Missouri lawmakers will return to Jefferson City this week to consider whether to override any of Gov. Mike Parson’s vetoes. And while they are in town, many will also engage in another veto session tradition — raising campaign cash at a parade of parties and fundraisers all over the Capitol City. Less than two months […]
Republican nominee for Missouri lieutenant governor drops defamation lawsuit
By: Jason Hancock - September 4, 2024
The Republican nominee for lieutenant governor has dropped a defamation lawsuit he filed before the Aug. 6 primary against the corporate owner of Missouri television stations and one of his political rivals. David Wasinger filed the lawsuit on Aug. 2 claiming that a television ad run by another Republican vying for the lieutenant governor nomination […]
Federal appeals court declares Missouri’s ‘Second Amendment Preservation Act’ unconstitutional
By: Jason Hancock - August 26, 2024
A Missouri law declaring some federal gun regulations “invalid” is unconstitutional because it violates the U.S. Constitution’s supremacy clause, a federal appeals court in St. Louis unanimously ruled on Monday. A three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a district court ruling from last year that blocked Missouri from enforcing the […]
Lawsuit seeks to knock Missouri abortion-rights amendment off Nov. 5 ballot
By: Jason Hancock - August 23, 2024
A pair of Republican state legislators and an anti-abortion activist filed a lawsuit Thursday asking a judge to block an abortion-rights constitutional amendment from appearing on the Nov. 5 ballot. State Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, state Rep. Hannah Kelly and Kathy Forck sued last year challenging the cost estimate for a proposed constitutional amendment rolling back […]
Administrative law judges sue Missouri governor for wrongful termination, withheld salary
By: Jason Hancock - August 23, 2024
A pair of administrative law judges are suing the Parson administration claiming wrongful termination and illegal withholding of salary. Ryan Asbridge, who has served as an administrative law judge since 2019, and Gina Mitten, who has served since 2021, filed a lawsuit last week in Cole Circuit Court. They allege the administration of Gov. Mike […]
Lawsuit argues sports wagering amendment should be kept off Missouri ballot
By: Jason Hancock - August 22, 2024
A lawsuit filed Wednesday seeks to block a proposed constitutional amendment legalizing sports wagering in Missouri from being placed on the November ballot. The suit, filed in Cole County Circuit Court, argues the methodology used by the Missouri Secretary of State’s office to certify that the sports betting proposal collected enough signatures was unconstitutional. To […]
Backers of new Missouri casino file lawsuit hoping to get on statewide ballot
By: Jason Hancock - August 20, 2024
A group hoping to build a new casino near the Lake of the Ozarks filed a lawsuit Tuesday arguing it collected more than enough signatures to earn a spot on the November ballot. The Osage River Gaming & Convention Committee is asking a judge to reverse a decision by the Missouri secretary of state’s office […]