Press "Enter" to skip to content

Torpey will not run for LeVota’s seat

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Former state Rep. Noel Torpey, R-Independence, decided Friday that he will not run for retiring state Sen. Paul LeVota’s seat in an as-of-yet unscheduled special election.

Ultimately, the decision had little to do with a lack of interest in the political scene, and more to do with making sure he still has time for his wife, Julie, and two sons, Hayden and Dawson.

Torpey
Torpey

“It’s just not fair to my family,” Torpey said. “It really was an easy decision. As much as I’d love to serve, the timing’s not right in our household.”

He noted that a life of politics often puts undue stress on family members and that he had no desire to put his family back into that lifestyle.

“At times, It can be very stressful, and sometimes I would show my stress and bring that home,” Torpey said. “That’s not fair to them.”

Torpey was the presumptive Republican choice to run for LeVota’s seat after LeVota announced his resignation last Friday.

His recent experience as a state representative made him an obvious choice to fill the seat in a usually Democratic district. However, Torpey currently enjoys working as the executive director of the Fair Energy Rate Action Federation where he says he can still “make a difference” and that he’s simply happy with his current lifestyle away from elections and politics.

“This is the first summer in six years I haven’t had to knock doors, and it’s been the best summer yet,” he said. “Maybe down the road, I’ll run again, and maybe I won’t. But today I’m in a very good place.”