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Rehder: ‘…running for Speaker is in the cards’

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Rep. Holly Rehder’s eyes may be set on a new goal: winning the House Speaker’s seat.

Rehder discussed the possibility of running for the seat while appearing on this week’s episode of This Week in Missouri Politics.

“I think running for Speaker is in the cards,” she told Scott Faughn on the show. “I’m a businesswoman, I’ve spent many years being successful at home and building jobs at home. Right now we have a great opportunity with a Republican governor to get many of these policies passed that we have vetted for years. So, I think a business person at the helm is going to be very important because the policies that we’ve been working that we haven’t been able to get passed. Many of them are labor reform, tort reform, things that really touch the business community.”

It’s not the first time she has considered running for a leadership position. She also ran for Assistant Majority Floor Leader in 2015, but was defeated by Rep. Kevin Austin.

When asked what she would want to do as Speaker, Rehder responded by outlining a few issues she felt were important issues that would arise in the future.

“We have the tax credit reform, it’s certainly something that we’re not going to get done in one year, so that’s going to be extremely important,” she said. “Loser pays is a big deal to me, many states have passed it, and Missouri could absolutely pass a loser pays law. It’s something that we certainly need in Missouri.”

She also said that she’d be willing to work with Sen. Ron Richard in an attempt to address the state’s court plan as well.

House Speaker Todd Richardson’s term ends in 2018, leaving the seat open. Speaker Pro Tem Elijah Haahr is considered by many to be the favorite, but Rehder’s legislative resume and recent victories with the passage of right-to-work and work on the prescription drug monitoring program give her a significant boost.

“I’m 110 percent in on the important policies, and I think my work ethic has shown that,” she said. “I’ve been signing the fronts of paychecks for years. I have that experience and knowledge. My children are grown, I have the time to work across the state, and it’s something that I’ve been doing for the last several years while working on right-to-work.”

An interesting thing to note is that the Sikeston Republican this week was seen leaving the offices that house A New Missouri, Inc., a nonprofit that was founded by Gov. Eric Greitens’ campaign treasurer, Jeff Stuerman. Rehder was seen leaving the location, seated next to Grand Cafe in downtown Jefferson City, with members of Greitens’ senior staff.

You can catch the full interview this Sunday on This Week in Missouri Politics at the following times:

Mid-Missouri

KRCG at 6:00 a.m.

St. Louis

ABC30 at 11:00 a.m.

Kansas City

KSHB at 10 a.m.