Lincoln Hough concedes MO Lieutenant Governor race to Republican David Wasinger
Republican David Wasinger and Democrat Richard Brown will represent their respective parties as Missouri lieutenant governor candidates in November.
Wasinger pulled ahead of Springfield Republican Lincoln Hough late in Tuesday's primary election, winning the Republican nomination with a little more than 31% of the votes, according to the Associated Press. In addition to Hough, Holly Rehder, Paul Berry III, Tim Baker and Matthew Porter also ran in the GOP primary.
Hough, who has two years left in his final term as a state senator, garnered 30% of the Republican vote and led Wasinger in rural counties across the state. Late Tuesday night, he acknowledged falling short of Wasinger at a campaign watch party in Springfield.
Brown won the Democratic primary with 64.9% of the votes, according to the Associated Press, against his single opponent Anastasia Syes.
The News-Leader contacted Wasinger and Brown for comment but was unsuccessful in reaching either candidate by press deadline.
David Wasinger
Wasinger considers himself a "conservative outsider" who is interested in "shaking things up" in Jefferson City. A Hannibal native, Wasinger now lives and works in St. Louis.
Wasinger is an alumnus of the University of Missouri in Columbia and Vanderbilt Law School in Nashville. Currently, he co-owns Wasinger Daming, LC, a law firm based in St. Louis.
Speaking to the News-Leader in July, Wasinger said the number one item on his agenda as a candidate is addressing Missouri's "out of control crime." Specifically, he would like to do this by advocating for Missouri police officers.
"In my opinion, we have to be advocates for the police and as an integral part of that, we need to let the police police," Wasinger told the News-Leader in a July interview. "They can't be walking around on eggshells and afraid to arrest these criminals."
Richard Brown
Brown is a Kansas City native who currently serves in the Missouri House of Representatives, representing District 27, which encompasses southeast Kansas City. He was elected into this role in 2016.
Brown is an alumnus of the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg and Webster University. Post-graduation, Brown worked as a schoolteacher in Kansas City Public Schools. He taught for 23 years before retirement.
Brown's main point of interest as a candidate is affordable housing, childcare and healthcare. According to his Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses from 2023, Brown helped expand Medicaid in Missouri, worked to remove restrictions on advance practice registered nurses and supported direct patient access to physical therapists without a physician referral.
Greta Cross is the trending topics reporter for the Springfield News-Leader. She has more than five years of journalism experience covering everything from Ozarks history to Springfield’s LGBTQIA+ community. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretalcross. Story idea? Email her at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: David Wasinger, Richard Brown win Missouri lieutenant governor primaries