St. Louis, Mo. — A candidate for governor and a new University of Missouri System curator joined host Scott Faughn on a special Memorial Day episode of This Week In Missouri Politics.
First, Sen. Mike Parson, R-Bolivar, joined Faughn to discuss his candidacy for governor, which he formally announced just weeks ago. Parson, hoping to lure many rural voters away from fellow candidate Catherine Hanaway, discussed his background as a farmer, sheriff, and service member.
“I’m going to say there’s probably not anyone with humbler beginnings than mine,” Parson joked. “Growing up on a small farm in one of the poorest counties in the state.”
Parson, now fully engaged in his campaign, said he believed he would match up well in a theoretical general election with Democrat Attorney General Chris Koster who, like Parson, served in the senate and has a background in law enforcement. The pro-life, pro-gun, Parson is an outspoken Christian and perhaps the candidate with the most legitimate agricultural background – something he believes can carry him to the general election.
Joining the show next was David Steelman, an attorney and Missouri politico who is now serving as a curator for the University of Missouri System. Steelman brought his considerable political and campaign acumen to the show, first weighing in at length on 2016.
“[Republicans] need to learn to relate across the state,” Steelman said. “Different people in this state, which is so diverse, different people in this state see things differently. You’ve got to get those votes in St. Charles without losing those votes in southwest Missouri.”
Steelman also took issue with Right-to-Work, saying he was disappointed the issue wasn’t the center of a grand compromise. Steelman said he both sides on RTW were right, and that he “detested” the use of the previous question.
“The previous question in the Missouri senate is a failure of the legislative process.”
This and all previous episodes of TWMP can be streamed at twmp.tv.
