COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri voters have nominated Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe to be the Republican candidate for governor, making the governor’s race his to lose.
Speaking to a crowd of supporters in Jefferson City, Kehoe described himself as an “underdog” and said people doubted his campaign from the start.
“We proved, once again, the American dream is still alive,” Kehoe said.
Kehoe 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.
Kehoe will face off in the general election against state House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, who won the Democratic nomination. She immediately framed herself as “a champion of reproductive freedom and access to abortion” in a Tuesday statement, linking her gubernatorial bid to a November ballot measure that would restore abortion in the state.
Abortion is currently banned in Missouri at all stages of pregnancy, with limited exceptions.
“Missourians deserve a governor who will fight for working families - a leader who will restore our rights, not strip us of them,” Quade said. “Missourians are sick of the extremism, sick of the government overreach of their rights.”
Republican Gov. Mike Parson is barred from seeking reelection by term limits.
Here’s a breakdown of Missouri’s top statewide Republican primaries:
The GOP fight for the governorship had appeared to be 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.
But Ashcroft performed poorly Tuesday, coming in third after Eigel - who has only ever won election to his suburban state Senate seat.
“This is obviously not the result we expected,” Ashcroft spokesman Jason Roe said in a text. He said Ashcroft called Kehoe to congratulate him and offered his support.
Kehoe and his supporters had 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.
As lieutenant governor, Kehoe oversees work in the GOP-led state Senate, where Republican infighting played out dramatically this year.
On Tuesday, he called for unity.
“This 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 be reduced to finger-pointing and name-calling.”
Attorney General Andrew Bailey fought off a challenge from Trump lawyer Will Scharf to clinch the GOP nomination and, presumably, keep his seat.
Tuesday was voters’ first chance to weigh in on Bailey, another Parson appointee named to the position after Eric Schmitt resigned to become a U.S. senator in 2022.
Big money groups with connections to key Republican campaign financier Leonard Leo had backed Scharf. Both candidates take conservative positions, but Bailey has gone through the Missouri political system while much of Scharf’s career has been in Washington.
Secretary of State Ashcroft’s and Lt. Gov. Kehoe’s political ambitions leave their seats open and have drawn super-sized fields of Republican hopefuls.
In the GOP race for secretary of state, state Sen. Denny Hoskins defeated state Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, state Reps. House Speaker Dean Plocher and Adam Schwadron, Greene County Clerk Shane Schoeller, and political newcomers Jamie Corley and Valentina Gomez.
It was too early to call the lieutenant governor’s GOP primary Tuesday, with David Wasinger and Lincoln Hough leading.
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Associated Press reporter David A. Lieb contributed to this report from Jefferson City, Missouri.
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