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From pizza to brown sugar corn, your definitive guide to Missouri elected officials’ favorite Thanksgiving sides

The Missouri Times has the scoop — on side dishes that is. It is our pleasure to serve the 2021 definitive guide to Missouri elected officials’ favorite Thanksgiving side dishes. And some are quite … interesting. 

Gov. Mike Parson
Macaroni and cheese and corn 

Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe
Anything that has beef in it. Stuffing with beef, beans with beef, rice with beef, etc.

Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft
Apple pie à la Mode

Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick
Sweet potato casserole with marshmallows on top

Auditor Nicole Galloway
Mashed potatoes

Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz
Sweet potatoes with brown sugar and marshmallows, but to tell the truth, I like them all.

Senate Majority Leader Caleb Rowden
Mashed sweet potatoes 

Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo
My wife’s cousin’s corn that she makes with brown sugar

Sen. Lauren Arthur
As an Italian American, no Thanksgiving is complete without pasta and meatballs.

Sen. Jason Bean
Deviled eggs and mom’s cranberry sauce. My mom makes the best corn side dish!

Sen. Doug Beck
Dirty rice. We’ve been stuffing half of our turkey with that for the last 10 years.

Sen. Mike Bernskoetter
Mashed potatoes, stuffing, green bean casserole. The only thing I don’t care for is the sweet potatoes, but my favorites are the desserts, especially pecan pie. 

Sen. Rick Brattin
Green bean casserole 

Sen. Justin Brown
I guess I would say it all goes back to days when my grandparents were still here. My Grandmother and Grandfather Brown were poor dairy farmers but rich in family. I can still smell her fried chicken, turkey, and ham when my family would walk through her door on Thanksgiving. They had three boys, which all of them did well in their own right, but moved away from home like so many farm kids of that generation. So Thanksgiving and Christmas, like many families, was the only time of the year we were all together. When I say we, I mean cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. It was a special time that I miss and shaped me into who I am today. My dad, my uncles, and my grandfather would always rabbit hunt after our Thanksgiving meal. My dad carried on that tradition of the annual hunt for my boys and me. Now that my father has passed on, I look forward to carrying on the Brown tradition this year.

Sen. Eric Burlison
My mother’s chicken and dumplings. 

Sen. Mike Cierpiot
Pumpkin pie, dressing, and turkey gravy

Sen. Sandy Crawford
Candied sweet potatoes

Sen. Bill Eigel
My mom’s turkey stuffing and jellied cranberry sauce. The stuff that comes in a can and can be sliced with a butter knife. It’s also the stuff that can outlast a nuclear winter if stored properly so win-win there. 

Sen. Karla Eslinger
Dressing

Sen. Elaine Gannon
Sweet potatoes 

Sen. Dan Hegeman
Cranberry salad

Sen. Denny Hoskins
Broccoli, rice, and cheese casserole

Sen. Lincoln Hough
Green bean casserole with a side of half of a sweet potato pie 

Sen. Andrew Koenig
A turkey leg

Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer
Cheesy potato casserole

Sen. Karla May
Sweet potatoes 

Sen. Mike Moon
Sweet potato casserole topped with brown sugar and pecans (oven-baked) or green bean casserole or “trees and raisins” (a concoction of broccoli, raisins, onions, mayonnaise, and bacon) 

Sen. Angela Mosley
I don’t have one favorite side. I have many equally tasty to me: macaroni and cheese, candied yams, greens, green bean casserole, and cabbage. 

Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin
Brussel sprouts with bacon

Sen. Bob Onder
Mashed potatoes and turkey gravy

Sen. Greg Razer
Cornbread dressing * 

Sen. Holly Rehder
Cornbread dressing *

Sen. Jeanie Riddle
Cornbread dressing

Sen. Steven Roberts
Sweet potato pie and macaroni and cheese

Sen. Jill Schupp
Roasted potatoes 

Sen. Barbara Washington
Baked macaroni and cheese

Sen. Bill White
Stuffed mushrooms with lots of cheese

Sen. Paul Wieland
Green bean casserole 

Sen. Brian Williams
Macaroni and cheese

House Majority Floor Leader Dean Plocher
Dressing

House Minority Floor Leader Crystal Quade
My dad’s homemade rolls

Rep. Rasheen Aldridge
Creamy, cheesy macaroni and cheese

Rep. Ashley Bland Manlove
Sweet potatoes with pineapples and marshmallows 

Rep. Phil Christofanelli
Sweet potatoes 

Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman
Mashed potatoes 

Rep. Bruce DeGroot
Green bean casserole

Rep. Shamed Dogan
Sweet potato pie

Rep. David Gregory
Paige’s stuffing 

Rep. Bill Hardwick
Casey’s pizza

Rep. Tracy McCreery
Creamed corn casserole 

Rep. Bill Owen
Stuffing, mashed potatoes, and cranberry sauce

Rep. Louis Riggs
Homemade noodles

Rep. Travis Smith
Cheesy potatoes 

Rep. David Tyson Smith
Sweet potato soufflé 

Rep. Curtis Trent
Cranberry sauce 

Rep. Wayne Wallingford
Cranberry Sauce

And as for The Missouri Times team: 

Scott Faughn
Bud Light 

Kaitlyn Schallhorn
Sweet potato casserole with loads of brown sugar and macaroni and cheese

Cameron Gerber
Candied yams and lots of stuffing 

*Sens. Razer and Rehder would like to stress that they like dressing, not stuffing — there’s a big difference.