2 Republicans campaigning in primary to represent Christian County's District 140

In the upcoming Aug. 6 election, two Republicans are vying for the District 140 ticket: Rep. Jamie Ray Gragg and Danny Garrison. District 140 serves part of Christian County in the Missouri House.

Here's what you need to know about them.

The Democratic Party candidate is Julia Curran, a longtime Christian County resident who wants to focus on jobs, economic resiliency, education, health care and clean water.

Who is Jamie Gragg?

Website: electjamieraygragg.wordpress.com

Who is he? Gragg is a Christian County native who attended Southwest Baptist University. He was previously an executive for Boy Scounts of America, a church education/youth minister and directed Christian camps in Texas and Missouri. He currently runs his own woodworking business. Gragg currently lives in Ozark. He has one daughter, three sons and three grandchildren.

Gragg was elected as the 140th District representative in November 2022. He serves on the Children and Families Committee, the Elementary and Secondary Education Committee, the Healthcare Reform Committee and the subcomittee on appropriations – education.

What has he done previously? In the past, Gragg has co-sponsored a bill that prohibits public funding for abortion facilities, including state Medicaid re-imbursement, which was signed by Gov. Mike Parson May 9. He also co-sponsored a bill that requires the Missouri veterans commission to expand its efforts to prevent veteran suicide, which was signed by Parson July 12.

Gragg has also proposed a bill that would designate cashew chicken as the official dish of the state of Missouri, a bill that would prohibit the state librarian from disbursing funds to libraries that "offer obscene materials to children," and a bill establishing the crime of "contributing to social transition" and requires those found guilty of that offense to register on Tier I of the sex offender registry. Social transition is a process in which a person adopts a name, pronouns and gender expression like clothing and haircuts that do not match their sex assigned at birth. None of these bills passed.

What does he want to do if re-elected? Gragg said he will continue to fight for southwest Missouri families if re-elected. That includes making sure children's education is "the best they can get" and that parents are in charge of their children's education. He also wants to "fight taxes, making sure that on one side we're spending our taxes wisely but also to make sure we're not taking more than is required."

Part of fighting for southwest Missouri families includes supporting plans to reduce government reach in lives, he said.

"I think there's way too much overreach from the state down to the local level and the local level down to mom and dad's house," Gragg said. "We just need to stop that."

As part of that shift toward local control, Gragg is also planning on introducing a bill that would require county library boards to be elected in much the same way that school boards are. He introduced the same bill in the 2023 session, HB 2648.

Who is Danny Garrison?

Who is he? Garrison is a lifelong resident of Ozark who has earned degrees from both Missouri State University and William Woods University. He taught social studies at Republic, Seymour, Gainesville and Strafford schools, where he also coached sports including basketball and track. Garrison was also an assistant basketball coach at Southwest Baptist University and at Hollister R-III School District. He has managed rental properties for 40 years. Garrison is a lifelong member of Mount Zion Baptist Church. He previously ran in 2022 for the District 140 seat.

Why is he running? Garrison has always had an interest in being part of politics and feels he's "totally different from everyone who seems to be in politics now."

"On all these controversial issues, I seem to be able to see both sides of them and I don't understand why other people can't," Garrison said.

He feels that ability will give him a way to actually get things done with his fellow representatives.

"I don't really like the political polarization that exists. I'm not going to probably be involved in that," Garrison said. "I'm not going to do anything to harm a Democrat. I don't see them as the enemy — I see them as colleagues. That may be an unpopular position but it's mine."

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What does he want to do if elected? As a former educator, Garrison is concerned about the state of Missouri's school system. If elected, he'd like for some of the funds currently held by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to be released back to schools and "let them try to use it the best they saw fit." Garrison supports school choice and believes that parents should be able to determine the best educational environment for their children. He also would like to see a greater emphasis on academic preparation and technical education in Missouri schools.

As a property owner, Garrison is concerned about issues regarding eminent domain and wants to see Missouri further develop the existing legislation. In 2022, the Legislature passed a law regarding eminent domain as it pertains to electrical transmission lines and set up guidelines for compensating property owners. Garrison believes that the legislation needs to be expanded to address other projects like gas pipelines and roads, and that the compensation needs to be increased.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Missouri primary election: District 140 candidates run for House seat