JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — As he campaigns for state auditor, Rep. David Gregory is making the argument his background in accounting and law makes him the perfect candidate for the job.
“No one is better prepared than I am to be your next state auditor,” Gregory said at a campaign stop at the Missouri State Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Thursday morning. “This is what I do: I’m an investigative attorney and an accountant. I’m very well-trained in collecting evidence, tracking leads, and following the money to root out the corrupt politicians who are misusing it.”
Gregory, a Republican state representative, officially jumped into the state auditor’s race this week with an immediate endorsement from the Missouri FOP. Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick launched his campaign for auditor last week.
Auditor Nicole Galloway announced in June that she would not seek re-election or run for another political position in 2022. The lone Democratic statewide elected official in Missouri, Galloway unsuccessfully challenged Gov. Mike Parson last year. She was appointed to the auditor position in 2015 and was elected to maintain the seat in 2018.
Gregory touted his support for law enforcement and promised to crack down on taxpayer money being spent on so-called critical race theory teachings in Missouri schools if elected auditor.
“Parents deserve to know how much of their money is being spent on critical race theory,” Gregory said. “We should not be forcing our taxpayers to fund things like critical race theory. As your state auditor, I will expose it. I will expose how much of your money is being spent on critical race theory, and once I expose that, together we will fight it, and we will win.”
“Same thing goes for defunding the police. Our local politicians, they should not be using these backdoor efforts to defund our police,” he continued. “Crime is far too high. The safety of our families is far too critical.”
Joe Patterson, executive director of the St. Louis County Police Association, said Gregory is a “tireless supporter of police officers during one of the most challenging times in the history of law enforcement.”
“We have every confidence that David will fight for us in Jefferson City and be a fierce defender of our tax dollars,” Patterson said.
After formally announcing his candidacy Wednesday, Gregory has been traveling the state to tout his campaign. He has represented HD 96 in St. Louis County for four years and serves as the chairman of the Special Committee on Government Accountability. He said he found potential waste spanning more than 40 percent of the Department of Revenue’s budget in an audit he conducted of the department in the legislature.
“I am so tired of fighting over whether or not we have the money to cut taxes, whether or not we have the money for good programs like roads and bridges. We have the money; we just waste it,” he said. “We need the right people in place, and I am the right person to be leading this charge.”
Fitzpatrick was the first Republican out of the gate to announce his candidacy for auditor, promising to be a “conservative watchdog for taxpayers.”
As of the latest campaign finance filings, Fitzpatrick reported nearly $101,000 cash on hand. He reported a $250,000 donation to his campaign committee ahead of his announcement. Gregory reported having nearly $107,000 cash on hand during the same reporting period.
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.
