- JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Jacob Turk is back in it again. The perennial Republican candidate for U.S. Congress is once again seeking to challenge Congressman Emmanuel Cleaver.
In an email sent to supporters this week, Turk said that he is in it again and is kicking off his campaign to retire Cleaver.
“Since the Lord called me to this path in 2006, together we have cut Cleaver’s vote lead from 67,693 all the way down to 10,185 in 2014, the last off-year election,” he wrote. “Well, 2018 is again a non-Presidential election and our opportunity for victory. This year, if through effort and due diligence we keep the trend going of cutting off 19,000 votes from Cleaver’s margin per off-year election, we will win by a few thousand votes! Finally!”
Turk, a Republican from Lee’s Summit, has been challenging Cleaver for Missouri’s 5th Congressional District every two years since 2006. In 2014, Turk put up his best showing with 45 percent of the 153,635 votes.
“After 14 years, incumbent Emanuel Cleaver is working to impeach Trump, keep our borders open, raise your taxes, place subsidized housing in your neighborhood, and create animosity between us as Americans,” he continued. “It is now time to make the change. It is up to us. Cleaver cannot make a difference even if he spends another million dollars of special interest money just as he did in 2014. We can.”
The announcement comes just months after Turk lost to Republican Mike Cierpiot for the Senate District 8 seat in Missouri. Turk had chosen to run as an independent after not getting the nomination of the GOP. Now, he’s returning to his normal race.
“I have stood with you in the public arena for over 10 years. Now, I am asking you to stand with this Marine a last time to complete the mission in 2018.”
Read the letter below (sic):
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Benjamin Peters was a reporter for The Missouri Times and Missouri Times Magazine and also produced the #MoLeg Podcast. He joined The Missouri Times in 2016 after working as a sports editor and TV news producer in mid-Missouri. Benjamin is a graduate of Missouri State University in Springfield.