The Missouri Farm Bureau (MOFB) has endorsed Jason Bean in his race for SD 25.
Bean is in a crowded GOP primary race for term-limited Sen. Doug Libla’s state Senate seat along with state Rep. Jeff Shawan, former state Rep. Steve Cookson, and Eddy Justice.
The MOFB said all four candidates participated in virtual interviews before its Endorsement Committee trustees unanimously decided to back Bean.
“The 25th Senate District is the No. 1 agriculture district in the state of Missouri,” Rance Daniels, a regional endorsement committee member of the MOFB, said. “We need a farmer who understands the industry inside and out to represent us in Jefferson City. Jason has been deeply involved in agriculture his entire life and knows what rural life is all about. We look forward to working with him as our next state senator.”
“As a fifth-generation farmer, it is an absolute honor to receive the endorsement from Missouri Farm Bureau,” Bean told The Missouri Times. “I grew up watching my father serve as president of Dunklin County Farm Bureau and learned early in life the importance of producers having a voice in state government. Agriculture is the No. 1 industry in Missouri, and the important work that Missouri Farm Bureau champions every day for our producers is key to enhancing the $88 billion dollar impact for our Missouri economy.”
Bean runs an agribusiness in the Bootheel and studied agronomy and animal science at the University of Missouri. He’s the chairman of the Fisher Delta Research Center’s advisory board and the group’s former interim superintendent. He has also served on the United Soybean Board.
“The principles I learned building and growing the farm and business have led me to believe strongly in standing up for liberty and personal rights,” Bean previously told The Missouri Times. “As an agribusinessman, I know first-hand the value of property rights and how governmental overregulation can stifle growth and innovation.”
Bean, a self-described “constitutional conservative,” is a proponent of greater local control over schools, workforce development opportunities, and so-called “right-to-work” efforts. He has vowed to file a bill to allow counties to implement right-to-work laws on his first day in office if elected.
The Missouri Times has ranked the SD 25 primary a toss up. Recent polling data had both Bean and Justice with 26 percent and Shawan at 12 percent while Cookson had 7 percent. However, 29 percent of those polled said they are still undecided ahead of the August primary.
Bean reported having more than $115,000 cash on hand in the latest filing. In comparison, Cookson reported more than $82,000; Justice had more than $103,000; and Shawan had more than $162,000.
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.
