BRANSON, Mo. – A governor candidate’s forum held by the Missouri Press Association in Branson provided the first in-person confrontation between Democrat Chris Koster and Republican Eric Greitens after a week of head-to-head conflict.
Leading up to the debate, polls from The Missouri Times have shown Greitens falling farther behind the attorney general.
Greitens went on the offensive in the first question. After speaking briefly about his opposition to SJR 39, the former Navy SEAL launched into his most recent attack at Koster, saying that he opposed a bill that would require rape victims to pay for rape kits. He said Koster needed to apologize to the women of the state.
“We have to have leaders in Missouri who are willing to stand up for people who need protection,” Greitens said.
Koster countered that he opposed the bill for other reasons, and an “ad check” from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch rebuts some of Greitens primary arguments.
“I wonder if the colleague to my left has read the bill,” Koster said, adding that Sen. Mike Parson, the Republican lieutenant governor candidate, also voted against the bill.
Greitens’ and Koster’s supporters have rowed for the past week after the Missouri Democratic Party discovered that a man who endorsed Greitens in an ad had shared lewd memes on Facebook that many on the left called sexist and Islamophobic.
However, Koster did not bring this up during his rebuttal, nor any of the other many scandals that have hounded Greitens during the campaign season.
Greitens continued to attack Koster, but Koster seemed to have an answer. Greitens stated that Koster spent $3.2 million renovating his office, Koster responded that the near-unanimously passed bill went towards ripping asbestos out of leaking walls. Greitens called Koster a “career politician” after every answer, but Koster responded that his career gave him experience.
Only when Greitens brought up his idea to institute a COO as someone who could oversee the state budget did Koster respond, saying that it was the governor’s job to oversee the budget.
“The governor runs the budget, and if you don’t know enough to run the state of Missouri, you shouldn’t be applying for the job.”
Other issues
The two candidates discussed a wide range of issues. Whil Koster said he opposed Right-to-Work legislation, Greitens reiterated that he support Right-to-Work legislation while mentioning that Koster has take $8 million from unions.
“We need more jobs and higher pay, and it’s clear that states with Right-to-Work have more jobs and higher pay,” Greitens said.
When it came to expanding Medicaid, Koster said
“The state of Missouri is losing a rural hospital every eight months and has been for the past three-and-a-half years,” he said. “Unless we adapt to the new reality, we will continue to lose ground.”
Greitens said that engaging in a “broken” system like Obamacare would not help the state and that states that have expanded Medicaid have begun to go bankrupt.
Koster advocated expanding funding for the Missouri Department of Transportation and working with the General Assembly on a gas tax bill. Greitens advocated for zero-based budgeting when it came to granting funding to all departments, including MoDOT.
In closing arguments, Greitens attacked Koster for his work in government.
“If he was going to make a difference, he would have done so already,” Greitens said. “But he hasn’t and he won’t.”
Koster warned against “hyper-partisanship” and cited his endorsements from traditionally conservative groups to show that he wanted to create a broad coalition.
“I have spent the entirety of my career trying to build a majority in the middle,” he said.
Koster and Greitens were joined by the three third party candidates: Cisse Spraggins of the Libertarian Party, Don Fitz of the Green Party, and Independent Lester Turilli.
Predictably, both candidates claimed victory after the debate.
“Missouri needs an outsider to take Missouri in a new direction,” Greitens campaign manager Austin Chambers said. “Unlike career-politician Chris Koster, Eric will put the needs of Missourians first. He’ll run Missouri like a business, something that Chris Koster clearly knows nothing about.”
“Today, Chris Koster showed he was the candidate with the expertise and knowledge to make progress for the state of Missouri,” said David Turner the primary spokesman for the Koster campaign. “He was the only one to clearly articulate plans to create jobs, end tax giveaways and loopholes, fully fund education, and fix Missouri’s bridges and roads. It was yet another example as to why he is the best choice for Missourians.”
