With the November 5 general election weeks away, progressive candidate Frank Lawrence has entered the fray in House District 30, where he will attempt to unseat Republican incumbent and speaker-elect Jon Patterson.
Patterson, a former surgeon, has served House District 30 since 2018 and was Majority Floor Leader this past session. He is seeking a fourth term this November. If elected, he will be Speaker of the House during the next legislative session of the Missouri House.
Lawrence will run on the Green party ticket against Patterson and Democrat Kevin Grover, a retired public school teacher and administrator. The Green Party was certified on July 29th and Lawrence was one of three Green Party candidates to file for state representative. The others were James Annala in St. Louis county and Patrick Andrew Miller in St. Charles county.
Third parties are no stranger to Missouri politics, but Green Party candidates tend to run less compared to other third parties and rarely appear in non-statewide campaigns.
In 2022, no Green Party candidates were on the general election ballot. In 2020, eight Green Party candidates were on the general election ballot, compared to the Libertarian Party which had 22. Only three of those eight ran for a non-statewide office.
But Lawrence seems to have more traction than previous Green Party candidates and with issues like abortion and minimum wage also on the ballot, a progressive candidate could potentially garner votes.
Lawrence is a progressive influencer in Lee’s Summit with 3,800 followers on his Facebook page. In a number of essays, Lawrence gave his opinion on a wide range of issues, including abortion, gun control, Medicare for all, corporate greed, and the minimum wage.
With regard to abortion, Lawrence states, “Women deserve to be treated in a fair [and] equitable manner…Women deserve to make their own healthcare decisions.”
On the matter of guns, Lawrence favors very progressive policies that are sure to delight gun control advocates. “The gun safety laws should resemble the laws that regulate cars, trucks, and motorcycles…All guns must be registered,” said Lawrence on his Facebook page. “The status of gun user[s] will be included on driving and identification documentation. A permanent federal database will be maintained.”
Lawrence is unequivocal in his support of “Medicare for all” universal healthcare. “Our country is the only major country that has this profoundly stupid system,” said Lawrence.
According to his biography on Facebook, Lawrence is retired and married to Sue, a nurse. He also notes that one of his children was adopted.
Lawrence does not appear to have a campaign website but has a very active Facebook page, where he posts daily.
