Jenna Roberson, a Democrat from Wentzville, launched her candidacy for state Senate Friday.
Roberson is the director of operations at her family’s commercial janitorial and floor care company. She said watching the debate over HB 126 in 2019 — the sweeping anti-abortion legislation signed by the governor that year — was the catalyst for her decision to run for public office.
“In May of 2019, I found myself in the House gallery as I watched HB 126 being passed. As I listened to the gleeful adoption of a law that directly infringed upon my bodily autonomy, a small fire grew in my belly,” Roberson said in her campaign announcement.
Roberson is running for SD 2 which encompasses parts of St. Charles County. The seat is held by Sen. Bob Onder, a member of the Conservative Caucus, who is term-limited.
The Missouri Times has ranked the GOP primary for SD 2 as the No. 1 race to watch in 2022. The seat is expected to remain in Republican hands even after redistricting. Rep. Nick Schroer has already announced his bid with Speaker Pro Tem John Wiemann and Rep. Justin Hill also likely to join.
“I believe we need a functioning, bipartisan government and not a supermajority of big-government Republicans feigning small-government talking points,” Roberson said. “It is hypocritical, and it is insulting. I am done with being told to sit down and accept their authoritarian rule. It is time for adults to step up and take back control of Jefferson City so that we can move Missouri forward for all Missourians.
Roberson is an alumna of Missouri Baptist University where she studied biology and chemistry. She pointed to CAFOs and public education as two areas she is particularly interested in as she runs for office.
Roberson’s formal campaign announcement will be made on Friday evening in O’Fallon.
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.
