Rep. Curtis Trent launched a bid for state Senate Monday in an effort to represent Christian and Greene counties.
Trent, a Republican who chairs the House General Laws Committee, is vying for the SD 20 seat held by Sen. Eric Burlison who is running for U.S. Congress.
“We have a great life here in southwest Missouri, but it is under attack by outside cultural and political forces,” Trent said. “I have fought to make sure our state is protecting us from coastal elites who are using the federal government to force their values on us. I will always work to make sure that the people’s government in Jefferson City puts Missouri first.”
Trent has represented HD 133 in Greene County since 2017. He is an attorney who practiced in administrative law and is the former deputy chief of staff to Congressman Billy Long. He grew up on a farm in southwest Missouri and is a graduate of Missouri State University and Saint Louis University School of Law.
In the House, Trent is also a member of the Economic Development and Financial Institutions committees as well as the Special Committee on Litigation Reform. He is a conservative who has worked on legislation to strengthen Missouri’s Amber Alert system, curtail “frivolous” lawsuits, and protect privacy rights.
“Big technology companies have collected information on our most sensitive medical, financial, and personal data, then sold it to whoever is willing to pay for it,” Trent said. “Our children have no idea of the information that is being collected on them before they ever graduate high school — information that may deny them future jobs or home loans for the rest of their life. Congress has failed to protect privacy rights for Missourians so we must lead the fight to restore our rights.”
Additionally, Trent has said he plans to work on legislation in the upcoming session regarding prison nurseries, a plan he said could reduce recidivism rates and ultimately be fiscally beneficial to taxpayers.
Trent is the first candidate to officially declare for the seat and reported more than $139,000 cash on hand at the end of the latest reporting cycle. Rep. Tricia Derges, who faces multiple federal charges related to stem cell treatments and pandemic funds, has said she’s considering running for the seat.
Kaitlyn Schallhorn was the editor in chief of The Missouri Times from 2020-2022. She joined the newspaper in early 2019 after working as a reporter for Fox News in New York City.
Throughout her career, Kaitlyn has covered political campaigns across the U.S., including the 2016 presidential election, and humanitarian aid efforts in Africa and the Middle East.
She is a native of Missouri who studied journalism at Winthrop University in South Carolina. She is also an alumna of the National Journalism Center in Washington, D.C.
Contact Kaitlyn at kaitlyn@themissouritimes.com.
