Missouri voters nominate Kehoe, Quade in governor primaries
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Missouri voters nominated Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe to be the Republican candidate for governor. He edged out Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and state Sen. Bill Eigel to win the GOP nomination, a huge advantage in a strongly conservative state currently without any Democratic statewide officials.
Crystal Quade, currently the minority leader in the Missouri House, won the Democratic nomination for governor in Missouri primary election, beating Springfield businessman Mike Hamra, among others.
The GOP fight for the governorship was mainly between Ashcroft, who comes from a Missouri political dynasty, and Kehoe, a powerhouse in fundraising who was endorsed by Parson to be his successor.
Ashcroft had considerable name recognition after serving as secretary of state since 2017. His father, John Ashcroft, served as Missouri governor, a U.S. senator and U.S. attorney general under former President George W. Bush
Kehoe and his supporters poured money into his campaign and advertisements to make up for Ashcroft’s lead in name identification. Roughly a week before Tuesday’s primary, his campaign reported raising $4.2 million over the election cycle, more than three times what Ashcroft raised.
Pro-Kehoe political action committee American Dream PAC also brought in more than $7 million, more than double the close to $3 million raised by Committee 4 Liberty, which backs Ashcroft.
Kehoe assumed the lieutenant governor’s seat in 2018. He was appointed to the position following a government reshuffling when former Gov. Eric Greitens resigned in the face of potential impeachment that year. Mike Parson was serving as lieutenant governor but ascended to the governor’s office when Greitens left. Parson then tapped Kehoe to replace him as lieutenant governor. Kehoe had been serving as the second-highest ranking state senator at the time.
Kehoe was first elected to the state Senate in 2010 after years as a car dealership owner. As majority floor leader, he oversaw legislation that restricted unions and that Republicans said would help local businesses.
Republican Gov. Mike Parson is barred from seeking reelection by term limits.
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