Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz is running for U.S. Senate.
The Franklin County Republican officially announced his candidacy for the race Tuesday, listing off legislative accomplishments like balancing a budget, advancing pro-life policies, and supporting the Second Amendment.
“We’re going to take some good, old-fashioned Show-Me State values to Washington and show them how it’s done,” Schatz said in the ad, which largely featured his Schatz Underground business. “I’m not the fanciest guy in the race. I’m definitely not the slickest. But if you’re looking for a U.S. senator who will get the job done, then I’m your guy.”
An avid fisher and hunter, Schatz has risen in the Capitol from a state representative to president pro tem of the Missouri Senate where he’s carved out a reputation for being focused on infrastructure.
This year, Schatz championed legislation increasing Missouri’s gas tax by 2.5 cents annually — bumping it up to 29.5 cents from 17 cents by 2025. The additional funds are earmarked for fixing Missouri’s roads and bridges.
He previously deftly maneuvered a bonding package to expedite repair or replacement of hundreds of bridges, including the Rocheport Bridge, in Missouri through the General Assembly in 2019. The package was contingent upon a federal grant the state received just a few months after the legislature approved the proposal.
These days too many politicians are fakes and frauds. They switch political parties and abandon principles. I'm a real guy with a record of results who will always shoot you straight and I'm running to represent Missouri in the US Senate. Join our fight: https://t.co/Z0HRRbGwwD pic.twitter.com/AhXFpM7hcS
— Dave Schatz (@DaveSchatzMO) November 16, 2021
Schatz represents SD 26, which includes Franklin and West St. Louis counties, in the upper chamber of the General Assembly. He resides in Sullivan with his wife.
In addition to working as the vice-president of his family’s Schatz Underground, the Senate hopeful also serves as a deacon at his church in Sullivan, entertains his children and grandchildren at his family farm, and sits on a bank board. He’s quick to talk about his faith just as much as he is about his love of the outdoors. In fact, as he told The Missouri Times, on the day he filed to run for U.S. Senate, he was deer hunting.
He was named The Missouri Times’ 2020 Statesman of the Year.
Schatz faces an already crowded Republican field of contenders in the race to replace outgoing Senator Roy Blunt. Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler, Congressman Billy Long, Attorney General Eric Schmitt, former Gov. Eric Greitens, and attorney Mark McCloskey are vying for the GOP nomination.
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.
