Saint Louis, Mo. — Missouri House Republicans elected Rep. Mike Cierpiot, R-Kansas City, to the post of Majority Floor Leader at their summer caucus today.
Cierpiot previously served as assistant majority floor leader under Rep. Todd Richardson. But when Richardson was elected Speaker of the House following the resignation of Rep. John Diehl, Cierpiot briefly took over the MFL role for the final hours of the legislative session.
“I’m humbled to have the trust of the caucus and am committed to helping our members achieve their goals,” Cierpiot said. “I want to thank Representative Cornejo for a positive race.”
Cornejo said he looked forward to working with Cierpiot.
“Mike and I both ran a positive campaign and showed a good contrast to our caucus of where we could go,” Cornejo said. “I look forward to working with Mike on addressing some of the concerns that our members brought up in my one-on-one discussions during the race.”
Cierpiot chose to pursue the spot formally over the summer, and has spent the last several weeks driving across the state to woo various Republican members to his support. Cierpiot’s primary competition came in the form of Rep. Robert Cornejo, R-St. Charles. Rep. Caleb Rowden of Columbia also briefly flirted with the race, but ultimately stepped aside to run for state senate.
“The House majority is full of strong conservative leaders,” said Joe Lakin with Victory Enterprises. “Today, once again, demonstrated that, as Republicans were given the choice between two great leaders. Majority Leader Cierpiot will be an excellent advocate for our caucus, candidates, and causes heading into 2016 and beyond. Our caucus will be well served by his continued leadership.”
The MFL carries significant weight within the caucus, as it is their office that determines what bills are placed on the legislative calendar. The MFL is often tasked with whipping votes on specific bills, building coalitions for successful votes, and monitoring veto-override efforts.
Collin Reischman was the Managing Editor for The Missouri Times, and a graduate of Webster University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.
