COLUMBIA, Missouri (AP) — Missouri voters have nominated Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe as the Republican nominee for governor, giving him a chance to lose the gubernatorial election.
Speaking to a crowd of his supporters in Jefferson City, Kehoe called himself an “outsider” and said people had doubted his campaign from the beginning.
“We have proven once again that the American dream is still alive,” Kehoe said.
Kehoe defeated Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and Senator Bill Eigel to become the Republican nominee. In a strongly conservative state that currently has no Democratic officeholder, Kehoe is a huge advantage.
Kehoe will face Democratic House Minority Leader Crystal Quade in the general election. In a statement Tuesday, she immediately described herself as a “champion of reproductive freedom and abortion access” and linked her candidacy for governor to a law passed in November that would reinstate abortion in the state.
In Missouri, abortion is currently prohibited at all stages of pregnancy, with few exceptions.
“Missouri deserves a governor who will fight for working families – a leader who will give us back our rights, not take them away,” Quade said. “Missouri is fed up with extremism, fed up with government overreaching their rights.”
Due to term limits, Republican Governor Mike Parson is unable to run for re-election.
Here is an overview of the most important Republican primaries in Missouri:
governor
The Republican battle for governor appeared to be between Ashcroft, who comes from a Missouri political dynasty, and Kehoe, a fundraising heavyweight whom Parson had proposed as his successor.
Ashcroft had gained considerable notoriety as Secretary of State since 2017. His father, John Ashcroft, was governor of Missouri, a U.S. senator and U.S. attorney general under former President George W. Bush.
But Ashcroft performed poorly on Tuesday, coming in third behind Eigel, who has so far only won his suburban Senate seat.
“This is obviously not the outcome we expected,” Ashcroft spokesman Jason Roe said in a text message. He said Ashcroft called Kehoe to congratulate him and offer his support.
Kehoe and his supporters had poured money into his campaign and ads to offset Ashcroft’s name recognition advantage. About a week before Tuesday’s primary, his campaign reported raising $4.2 million over the course of the election cycle, more than three times what Ashcroft had raised.
The pro-Kehoe campaign committee American Dream PAC also raised more than $7 million, more than double the nearly $3 million raised by Committee 4 Liberty, which supports Ashcroft.
Kehoe took over as lieutenant governor in 2018. He was appointed to the post following an administration reshuffle after former governor Eric Greitens resigned that same year amid potential impeachment. Mike Parson was lieutenant governor but ascended to the governorship following Greitens’ departure. Parson then appointed Kehoe to succeed him as lieutenant governor. Kehoe was the state’s second-highest-ranking senator at the time.
Kehoe was first elected to the Senate in 2010 after years working as an auto dealer. As Senate Majority Leader, he was responsible for legislation that restricted unions and, Republicans said, was intended to help local businesses.
As lieutenant governor, Kehoe oversees the work of the Republican-led Senate, which has seen dramatic power struggles among Republicans this year.
On Tuesday he called for unity.
“This election campaign has also exposed some deep divisions within our party,” Kehoe said. “So let me say this: The future of Missouri is too important for the Republican Party to limit itself to pointing fingers and calling them names.”
Attorney General and other statewide offices
Attorney General Andrew Bailey fended off opposition from Trump’s attorney Will Scharf, secured the Republican nomination and is likely to retain his seat.
On Tuesday, voters had their first chance to voice their opinions on Bailey, another Parson appointee who was appointed to the office after Eric Schmitt resigned to become a U.S. senator in 2022.
Scharf was backed by major donors with ties to Republican campaign financier Leonard Leo. Both candidates hold conservative positions, but Bailey has progressed through the Missouri political system while Scharf has spent much of his career in Washington.
The political ambitions of Secretary of State Ashcroft and Lieutenant Governor Kehoe left their seats vacant and have attracted a huge field of Republican candidates.
In the Republican race for Secretary of State, State Senator Denny Hoskins defeated State Senator Mary Elizabeth Coleman, State Representatives Dean Plocher and Adam Schwadron, Greene County House Speaker Shane Schoeller, and political newcomers Jamie Corley and Valentina Gomez.
It was still too early to predict Tuesday’s Republican primary for lieutenant governor, as David Wasinger and Lincoln Hough were in the lead.
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Associated Press reporter David A. Lieb contributed to this report from Jefferson City, Missouri.
Summer Ballentine, The Associated Press
