Press "Enter" to skip to content

Parson still leads in poll over Randles

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.  – State Sen. Mike Parson, R-Bolivar, is still leading in the Republican race for lieutenant governor over attorney and former chairwoman of Missouri Club for Growth Bev Randles, according to a recently released poll.

With the GOP primary less than two months away, Parson’s campaign touted a 9-point lead over Randles with Parson leading in almost every category, according to the poll released last month by Mo Scout, a private news service that covers politics.

According to the poll, 25 percent of likely Republican voters preferred Parson to Randles’ 16 percent. The poll was conducted over a two-day period in mid-May and showed Parson leading in Columbia, Joplin, Kansas City, Kirksville, Cape Girardeau, Springfield, St. Joseph and St. Louis. In Hannibal, the two candidates were tied at 14 percent apiece.

Parson
Parson

Parson has been winning in the polls consistently for months, said adviser James Harris. The numbers suggest that Parson is in a good position to secure the nomination in August, Harris said, and go on to face the Democratic nominee to see who will replace current Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, who is running for governor.

“We’re very excited,” Harris said. “I think it’s the result of Mike’s record from his time in the legislature, building a foundation on the the issues, and the fact that he’s just been barnstorming the state.”

But those in Randles’ camp pointed out Friday that that there are a high number of respondents in the poll – nearly 60 percent – who are undecided in the race. Those are the voters who will decide who will win the primary Aug. 2, said Randles adviser Todd Abrajano.

Randles
Randles

“It doesn’t surprise me that there’s a huge number of undecideds in this race,” Abrajano said. “Neither one of these people have run for state office before. The big job will be to get the voters to meet Bev and hear her message. We’ve got a lot of programs set up over the next six weeks. So, right now, we’re not concerned with what the polls say.”

Voters began to get an idea of what Randles stands for this week, Abrajano said, with her radio spots that began running. Television ads are set to start soon, too, he said.

“We are beating Mike Parson to the punch on both counts,” Abrajano said. “Most of the folks are going be introduced to Bev before they meet Mike. I feel very confident that on election day Bev’s going to be the next lieutenant governor because she has the better message.”

On the fund-raising front, Randles has more cash on hand than Parson as well, with $1.4 million compared to Parson’s 1.08 million.