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‘Why are you so weird?’: Lucas Kunce taunts Josh Hawley during squabble about debates
SEDALIA – A confrontation between U.S. Senate rivals Thursday on the Missouri State Fairgrounds may be the closest thing to a live debate in the 2024 campaign. U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican seeking his second term, arrived at the Governor’s Ham Breakfast looking for Lucas Kunce, the Democrat hoping to unseat him. He found […]
Sports wagering, minimum wage hike headed for November vote in Missouri
An end run around the Missouri General Assembly has the nation’s two largest sports books driving hard to their goal of crossing home plate with a big payday. A constitutional amendment to legalize sports wagering will be Amendment 2 on the Nov. 5 ballot, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s office said Tuesday, after finding that […]
Judge upholds ballot language to ban noncitizen voting, already illegal in Missouri
The ballot language written by lawmakers for a proposed constitutional amendment stating “only citizens of the United States” can vote and banning ranked-choice voting is fair and should be on the Nov. 5 ballot without changes, a Cole County judge ruled Monday. The “fair ballot language” summary written by Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft also […]
Josh Hawley, Lucas Kunce remain at an impasse on Missouri U.S. Senate debates
BOONVILLE – U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley said Thursday that he will participate in moderated television debates with Democrat Lucas Kunce, but first he wants Kunce to agree to debate without moderators at the Missouri State Fair. In response, Kunce said he will take part in the Lincoln-Douglas style debate Hawley wants, but first the incumbent […]
Josh Hawley, Lucas Kunce trade jabs over timing, format of Missouri U.S. Senate debates
The question of when – or whether – Missouri’s U.S. Senate candidates will debate opened up the fall campaign, with incumbent Republican Josh Hawley challenging Democratic nominee Lucas Kunce to an outdoor clash without moderators and Kunce calling for five televised events. Kunce, who is making his second run for the Senate, easily won the […]
‘It’s time to move on’: Missouri transportation director announces resignation
Patrick McKenna, director of the Missouri Department of Transportation, on Wednesday said he will leave his post after almost nine years on the job. McKenna announced his decision near the end of a meeting of the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission in Poplar Bluff. He did not give a date for his departure and did […]
Incumbent Missouri senators survive primary challenges across the state
Every incumbent Missouri senator challenged in Tuesday’s primaries won renomination, but Republican voters rejected sitting House members in five districts. In the Senate primaries, a big money advantage generally, but not in every case, carried the day. One notable exception was in the 31st District of western Missouri, where incumbent state Sen. Rick Brattin of […]
Mike Kehoe wins Republican nomination for Missouri governor
Missouri Republicans ratified Gov. Mike Parson’s choice of successor Tuesday by nominating Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, rejecting the scion of a veteran political family and the disruptive tactics of the GOP’s most vocal faction. Kehoe trailed Ashcroft in most polls until this summer, when the $16 million campaign warchest he amassed in his campaign fund […]
Out-of-state group targets Bill Eigel in Missouri GOP governor’s primary
A company registered in Delaware that uses a Jefferson City mailbox and an Oklahoma telephone number this month added nearly half a million dollars to outside spending against state Sen. Bill Eigel in the Missouri Republican governor’s primary. The Heartland Conservative Coalition LLC spent $438,259 since July 1, including $360,000 on television advertising, according to […]
Anonymous donors pump $2M into ad campaign backing Jay Ashcroft for Missouri governor
A national political group is pouring millions into Missouri to boost Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft in the Republican primary for governor, stepping in when his campaign was running out of cash and drawing howls from the backers of his rivals. The Stand for US PAC began ordering television and radio time in the state […]
Statewide officials scramble to grab attention in homestretch of Missouri primary campaign
With less than a week before Tuesday’s primaries, statewide elected officials are doing what they can to use their jobs to grab last-minute headlines. On Thursday in Jefferson City, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft went first, holding a news conference to announce he is suing President Joe Biden and 15 federal department heads over a […]
PAC spending in Missouri lieutenant governor’s race shows links to candidate Dave Wasinger
A company that shares an address with lieutenant governor candidate Dave Wasinger’s home last week loaned $300,000 to a recently formed PAC for attacks on his two best-funded Republican primary opponents. DACA Partners III LP on Thursday loaned the money to Missouri First Conservative PAC with terms stating it is to be repaid in 47 […]