JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — House Majority Floor Leader Dean Plocher is running for House speaker, informing his Republican colleagues Monday that he is up for the challenge “to build a stronger, more prosperous economy for every Missourian.”
Plocher just completed his first session as the majority floor leader. Representing HD 89 in St. Louis County, Plocher was first elected during a special election in 2015. He’s a practicing attorney in Clayton and a former municipal judge.
“Protecting our caucus is a main responsibility of leadership, and with redistricting upon us next election cycle, it is incumbent upon leadership to raise the necessary resources to protect every member’s seats,” Plocher said in his letter to Republican colleagues. “Our caucus and your ideas inspire me every day to be a better policymaker and serve the common good. It is reasonable to expect minor policy disagreements and debate among our strong Republican majority, but we must not lose sight of the simple fact that there is far more uniting us as conservatives than what divides us.”
Plocher was highly praised by members in both chambers for his ability to get House priorities across the finish line this year. He touted his record of working with his colleagues “in good faith” and with “the best of intentions” in his letter. If elected speaker, Plocher said his top priority would be to “promote caucus-driven legislation.”
“I am committed to working with the next floor leader, to execute conservative legislation, ensure participation of all caucus members, and to better articulate our path forward,” he said. “I stand by the principle that leadership is instrumental in guiding legislation that is the work product of the caucus. I know what it takes to be a team leader.”
Several House members have begun throwing their hats in the ring for the 2022 elections to leadership positions. Reps. Ben Baker, Mike Henderson, and Jim Murphy formally announced bids for House speaker pro tem. Rep. Mike Haffner launched a campaign for floor leader.
Caucus members are expected to choose their new speaker designee during veto session later this year.
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.
