House race in Florissant pits Democrat against a Democrat-turned-independent
FLORISSANT, Mo. – Less than a week before the Aug. 2 primary election, Rep. Keith English, I-Florissant, announced that he would refile to run for his seat in House District 68. Ten months earlier, he had announced he would not seek re-election to pursue an unnamed career in the private sector.
English came back in part because an independent candidate he supported decided not to seek election. He also said he wanted to continue representing the people of Florissant in Jefferson City as he had for the past four years.
“I love my district very much, I love representing the district, and I’ve built great relationships those four years,” English said in an interview in July.
Even though English returns as an incumbent, his path back to winning his seat may not be clear. English publicly left the Democratic Party in 2015 after getting elected as a Democrat in the dark blue district. The Democratic challenger to the seat, Jay Mosley, said that not a lot of people he has talked to in the district know about English’s party switch.
“The ones that do know, a lot of them might be disheartened by it,” he said. “They’re, if anything, shocked.”
So, Mosley has continued his campaign work since his 13-point victory over Bert Atkins in the primary. He continues to knock doors, make his case to voters in areas that did go in his favor in the primary, and fundraise – although he says the latter has never been a focal point of his campaign.
His MEC filings also reveal that his coffers have dwindled to just under $500 in his most recent filing, though that report is nearly a month old now. Those same filings also reveal he has not raised a cent of capital but has spent roughly $7,500.
Mosley also said he is looking to rely on getting the vote of the prominent minority community in the district, and he believes that high turnout for the presidential election could help him.
“I definitely want to get the black voters out to vote,” he said. “The more they do vote, the better chance I have. I believe that was the case in the primary.”
Mosley also took English to court after disputing that English resided in the district. English owns a rental property in Florissant, but Mosley alleged that English lived in Jefferson City with his wife, a state employee. A judge dismissed the lawsuit because it was filed roughly a week after a deadline mandated by state election laws.
English said the lawsuit was frivolous.
“It was no surprise the lawsuit would be filed,” English said adding that it was Mosley’s attorney “MO to file lawsuits against everyone. Elbert Walton doesn’t have a good name in the Democratic Party or North County. He does know the laws and he knows no matter who wins or loses he won’t have to pay for my attorney’s fees.”
Mosley also said that he has not received any assistance from the Missouri Democratic Party in his race. While English left the party, he has a pro-union voting record which may make the Democrats less likely to see the seat as a must-win.
The seat, however, could flip given that Mosley is the Democrat in a district that highly favors the party. English, while a Democrat, won his last two races by 2-to-1 and 3-to-1 margins.
English’s victories do show personal popularity in the district, though. He hopes he can bank on the support he has had in the last four years to turn out for him and he believes this year’s political climate is perfect timing for him.
“Considering we have the governor’s race where we have a Republican turned Democrat and a Democrat turned Republican, it’s great year for me to come out and say ‘let’s get rid of the letter behind the names,’ “ he said.
English added he already had 500-yard sign locations that would have signs go up this weekend, and he says he has raised about $60,000 already, though he has not yet filed an official report with the MEC.
For those reasons, he is confident he will win come November.
“For many years, I’ve been around the district as a representative and as a councilman, I’ve been taught how to run a campaign by some of the best,” he said. “My ground game is second to none.”
