Rep. Hannah Kelly is looking to step up within the Republican caucus and serve her colleagues as assistant floor leader.
The sophomore lawmaker from southwest Missouri announced her bid on Thursday. Kelly was first elected to the Missouri House in 2016 — winning her primary by a 45-vote margin — and re-elected in 2018.
“My journey in public service and the folks that have encouraged and led me along the way, are what prompted me to step up and run for assistant majority floor leader,” Kelly said in a statement. “My number one objective for wanting to serve in this seat is to put the work in that’s needed to help secure the results with a strong unified vision for 2020.”
Having graduated from Liberty Faith Christian Academy, Kelly became a realtor at the age of 18 and obtained her brokerage license a few years thereafter. She managed a real estate brokerage full-time until her run for office in 2016.
While in the House, Kelly has pushed for legislation relating to families, children, and agriculture and has worked to help craft a balanced budget.
She has served as chair of the Subcommittee on Agriculture Education and vice-chair of the Interim Committee on Stabilizing Missouri’s Health Insurance Markets. She has also served on the Agriculture Policy Committee, the Consent and House Procedure Committee, the Committee on Professional Registration and Licensing, and the Subcommittee on Scope of Practice.
Assistant floor leader Rep. J. Eggleston is making a bid to serve the House Republican Caucus as floor leader. Freshman Rep. Jeff Porter is also running for assistant floor leader.
Alisha Shurr was a reporter for The Missouri Times and The Missouri Times Magazine. She joined The Missouri Times in January 2018 after working as a copy editor for her hometown newspaper in Southern Oregon. Alisha is a graduate of Kansas State University.