Missouri ballots packed with choices

STATE STATS

Voter makeup: Missouri has about 4.3 million registered voters. It is a mostly red state with pockets of support for Democrats in the metropolitan areas of St. Louis and Kansas City and the college town of Columbia. Bill Clinton was the last Democratic presidential candidate to win in the state in 1996, though in 2008, Barack Obama lost Missouri by fewer than 4,000 votes. Elections for state office tended to split more evenly between the parties until 2016, when the state became more solidly Republican. Five of the last 10 governors were Democrats. Missouri voters do not declare a political party when they register.

Voting: Voters have until Oct. 9 to register to vote in the Nov. 5 general election. Polling places require a photo ID issued by Missouri or the federal government. However, people who forget their IDs on Election Day can vote on a provisional ballot that is counted if the voter returns later in the day with ID or if the signature on the ballot matches voter registration records. Absentee voting by mail or at a local election office is allowed for those with approved excuses such as travel or physical disability. Mailed ballots must be requested no less than two weeks before the election.

Missouri passed a law in 2022 that tightened voter ID requirements to bar the use of utility bills, voter registration cards, out-of-state driver’s licenses, or anything other than a photo ID issued by Missouri or the federal government. The same law created a two-week period of no-excuse-needed early voting before Election Day. The League of Women Voters and the NAACP sued the state, claiming the law disenfranchises a large number of voters. The case is pending in court.

PRESIDENTIAL

In 2022, Missouri adopted a law doing away with statewide presidential primaries and leaving it up to each party to decide how to award delegates to its summer conventions. Republicans held caucuses on March 2 in which former President Donald Trump won 100 percent of Missouri counties and delegates. Democrats conducted a statewide primary vote from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, March 23. President Joe Biden won with 85 percent, or 16,295 votes. Eleven percent of voters chose “uncommitted,” while the remaining votes went to other candidates. Former President Donald Trump is expected to win Missouri’s 10 Electoral College votes, according to Cook Political Report.

GUBERNATORIAL

Republican Gov. Mike Parson is leaving office due to term limits, and his lieutenant governor, Mike Kehoe, 62, won the Republican nomination to replace him.

• Kehoe prevailed in a tough primary race against Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, son of former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, and state Sen. Bill Eigel. A Kehoe campaign representative told The Kansas City Star that Kehoe would be open to signing a law that would add exceptions to Missouri’s pro-life law—one of the strongest in the country—for cases of rape and incest. Eigel and Ashcroft took Kehoe to task for voting as a state senator to allow foreign ownership of farmland. Kehoe explained to the Missouri Independent that the U.S. relationship with China has deteriorated since that 2013 vote, and he promised to work to end ownership of U.S. assets by “any enemy of this country.” Former President Donald Trump issued a blanket endorsement for all three GOP candidates, telling Missouri voters in an X post, “You can’t go wrong!” In the Aug. 6 primary, Kehoe won 39.4 percent of the vote, Eigel got 32.6 percent, and Ashcroft got 23.2.

• Democratic candidate Crystal Quade, 39, faces an uphill climb against Kehoe. The Democratic leader in the Missouri House of Representatives grew up in poverty in southwestern Missouri and pitches herself as an alternative to extremism and partisanism. She is openly courting moderate Republicans and counting on a pro-abortion ballot initiative to boost liberal voter turnout in the race.

SENATE

Only one of Missouri’s Senate seats is up for election this year. Analysts project it will lean Republican.

• Incumbent Republican Sen. Josh Hawley, 44, is running for a second term. In 2018, he unseated Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill, a former Missouri state auditor and longtime figure in state politics. Hawley is staunchly pro-life and anti–Big Tech. In 2020, he was the first member of Congress to announce he would object to the certification of the presidential election results. On Jan. 6, 2021, the day lawmakers met for the certification vote, Hawley saluted pro-Trump demonstrators outside the U.S. Capitol with a raised fist; some of them would storm the building later that day. He has since said that those who broke the law on the day of the Capitol riot should be punished, and he does not support calls for Trump to issue blanket pardons for rioters if reelected. Hawley has released two books while in office: one about the dangers of Big Tech censorship and one about the virtues of masculine leadership. His wife, Erin Hawley, is a constitutional lawyer and a contributor to WORLD Opinions.

• Lucas Kunce, a 41-year-old former Marine, is again challenging Hawley after an unsuccessful Senate campaign two years ago. On the campaign trail, Kunce frequently raises the need for stronger antitrust regulations and breaking up corporate monopolies. He also highlights his 13 years of service as a Marine Corps judge advocate. After serving in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Pentagon, he says that the United States should disengage from nation-building and reallocate defense spending to domestic investment. On Aug. 15 at the Missouri State Fair, Hawley confronted Kunce on camera and challenged him to a debate that day at the nearby Farm Bureau office. The two harassed each other on camera for about 20 minutes and did not agree to terms for a debate, according to the Missouri Independent. Hawley accused Kunce of hiding out in his basement except for media appearances, and Kunce responded, “Josh, why are you so weird?”

U.S. HOUSE

Missouri has eight Congressional districts, all of which have been dominated by one party for at least a decade. Democrats control Districts 1 and 5, which encompass the city centers of St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo., while Republicans hold the remaining districts. Incumbents are on the ballot in six of the eight races this year, and none of the seats are expected to change parties.

The most dramatic Missouri House race this election season happened in District 1 during the primaries. St. Louis County prosecutor Wesley Bell, 49, defeated incumbent Democratic Rep. Cori Bush, 48, a member of the liberal “Squad” in the House. Bush and other members of the Squad have been highly critical of Israel during its war against Hamas. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee and its associated political action committee contributed more than $10 million to Bell’s campaign. Bell is running on a platform of healthcare reform and increasing benefits for workers. He said he supports Israel’s right to defend itself. He is expected to defeat Republican Andrew Jones Jr., who has previously lost races for Congress and mayor of St. Louis.

SECRETARY OF STATE

Republican state lawmaker Denny Hoskins, 49, is running to replace Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, who did not seek reelection because he was running for governor. Hoskins was first elected to the state House in 2008 and the state Senate in 2016. He voted for Missouri’s heartbeat abortion law, and he promises to focus on election integrity in office, according to his campaign website. He has also opposed critical race theory and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in Missouri schools.

Hoskins faces Democratic state Rep. Barbara Phifer, who entered politics and won election to the state House in 2020 after retiring from her 40-plus year career as a United Methodist pastor. In the state legislature, she has sponsored several bills to increase gun regulations. She is campaigning for neutral language in ballot initiatives and more support for public libraries.

JUDICIAL ELECTIONS

The Missouri Supreme Court has seven judges, five of whom were appointed by Republican governors. The judges serve 12-year terms. If a judge leaves office before the end of his or her term, the governor appoints a replacement, who must stand for a retention vote the following year. Two Republican-appointed judges, Ginger Gooch and Kelly C. Broniec, are up for retention votes this year. Judges must run for retention again after 12 years in office and must retire at age 70.

BALLOT MEASURES

Missourians will vote on five ballot questions this year. Proposition A and Amendments 2 and 3 were proposed by voters who gathered signatures, while the others originated in the state legislature.

• Proposition A would increase the state minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2026 and require future adjustments for inflation. It would also set minimum requirements for employee sick leave.

• Amendment 2 would legalize sports betting in Missouri, one of 12 states where it is currently not allowed.

• Amendment 3 would establish a state constitutional right to abortion while also allowing the government to protect babies from abortion after they can live outside of the womb.

• Amendment 6 would allow state courts to charge fees to help fund the pensions of sheriffs and prosecutors, according to The Kansas City Star.

• Amendment 7 deals with several aspects of elections. It would add to the state constitution a provision that only U.S. citizens can vote in elections—something state law already mandates. It would also ban ranked-choice voting and eliminate runoff elections in party primaries as long as one candidate wins a plurality of votes.

Dig deeper:

• Sharon Dierberger reported on attempts to cancel Sen. Josh Hawley’s book about the perils of Big Tech.

• Josh Schumacher covers how Missouri’s pro-abortion ballot initiative was approved.

• Leo Briceno explains how the Israel-Hamas war is shaping House races like the one in Missouri’s 1st District.

• Leo also breaks down the pros and cons of ranked-choice voting.

Visit the WORLD Election Center 2024 to follow our state-by-state coverage between now and November.