Tony Luetkemeyer announces 2018 bid for Senate District 34 seat

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Missouri’s 34th Senate District has a new contender for its state senate seat. Tony Luetkemeyer, a conservative resident of Parkville announced his candidacy to replace the term-limited Sen. Rob Schaaf as the new voice for Buchanan and Platte County.

The Republican candidate, a cousin once removed from Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer, is calling for “an injection of fresh, outside leadership” to move the Show-Me State, promising to work toward changing the culture of Jefferson City. Luetkemeyer outlined his agenda for growing Missouri’s economy, properly educating the state’s youth, ensuring safer communities, safeguarding individual rights and liberties, protecting life, and reforming government. He named the following proposals as specifics:

• Keep taxes for families and businesses low, rein in wasteful government spending, and roll back job-killing regulations.
• Fight to end Common Core and work to stop the federal government from dictating to Missouri schools.
• End regulations that hamper the important work done by Missouri farmers and small business.
• Stand up for religious freedom, life, and the right of law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms.
• Enact a minimum three-year ban on state officials serving as lobbyists after leaving office and restrict gifts from lobbyists to restore public trust in government that political insiders have eroded.

“As a political outsider, I bring a fresh perspective to develop creative solutions to help Missourians where politics-as-usual has failed us,” Luetkemeyer said. “I look forward to talking with residents of Buchanan and Platte counties to learn more about the issues important to their families so we can solve our most pressing challenges, together. With bold leadership, we can move Missouri in the right direction.”

Luetkemeyer is a Kansas City lawyer and a graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia. He worked as a White House intern in the Domestic Policy Council under President George W. Bush, before enrolling as a law student at the University of Missouri School of Law.

While in law school, Leutkemeyer was appointed by Missouri Governor Matt Blunt to serve as the student representative on the University of Missouri Board of Curators, the governing board for the UM System. After graduating, he clerked for a judge on the Missouri Supreme Court before going on to practice law at a Kansas City-based law firm, where he focused on defending lawsuits brought against businesses and individuals. Luetkemeyer is currently an attorney for a Kansas City business, where he oversees the company’s litigation.