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Mike Moon sworn in, solidifying GOP super-majority

By Collin Reischman

State Rep. Mike Moon, R-Mt. Vernon, was sworn in on Monday. (Photo: House Communications)
State Rep. Mike Moon, R-Ash Grove, was sworn in on Monday. (Photo: House Communications)

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — State Rep. Mike Moon, R-Ash Grove, has been on the ballot more than once, but today he took his first oath of office.

Twice a Republican primary candidate for U.S. Congress, Moon was the winner of a special election for the 157th House district, which encompasses Lawrence County, Mo.

Moon was not going to seek the seat, he told The Missouri Times, until he was approached about it “a lot” by people he knew in the community. Moon said he was repeatedly asked to consider it, and he felt maybe it was the right decision.

“I wouldn’t have run if so many people hadn’t asked,” Moon said. “But it’s an important thing and a lot of people believed in me and trusted me, and it’s up to me to show them I’m aware of what they are looking for and I won’t let them down.”

Moon won the Republican slot at the 157th House District nominating meeting in February before spending five “incredibly busy” weeks campaigning for the seat – which gave the Republican’s 110 seats and a two-seat cushion for their veto-proof majority.

“In the two campaigns I was in before, I campaigned for about a year or so,” Moon said. “This time frame was five weeks, and I think I did as much work and as much campaigning in those five weeks as I did in the year I spent in my other races.”

Moon, 54, was employed at Mercy Hospital in Springfield in the Marketing Department before taking his seat. He has also been a farmer for many years, and said it establishes the base of what he wants to accomplish for his district.

“I feel very strongly that there is a need to protect our heritage, our way of life, in Lawrence County,” Moon said. “We’ve had a decline in the under-40 population in the last few years, many of our young people are leaving after graduation. We have to find a way to attract industry and businesses to the district, because we have to give our children a serious future.”