By Rudi Keller | Deputy Editor
Good morning, and welcome to The Weekender.
Missouri’s primary election is just two weeks away as of Tuesday and that means closing arguments from candidates and ballot measure campaigns.
As expected, the committees fighting over Amendment 4, on majorities for ballot measures, and Amendment 5, replacing the income tax with sales tax, are vastly outspending candidates with no hotly contested statewide candidate primary.
Super PAC spending from outside Missouri is many multiples of candidate spending in the three most competitive congressional primaries in the 1st, 5th and 6th districts.
Spending by PACs aligned with candidates in state Senate races is where some of the most bitterly negative messages are delivered to voters, usually by direct mail. In the 10th District of east-central Missouri, Republican candidate State Rep. Tricia Byrnes said Cut the Bull PAC, aligned with opponent Mike Deering, was spreading bull with its attack on her.
On Monday, you can read how a mailer in southwest Missouri’s 28th District is creating blowback for the candidate it is intended to help.
Those state-level PACs can accept unlimited donations and the candidates they are intended to help can raise money for the PAC. But that’s where the relationship is supposed to stop.
Candidates have no control over the message. They get the benefit if voters believe the negative ads.
And they endure the consequences if they don’t.
The Independent sat down for interviews with all five Republicans running in Missouri’s 6th Congressional District, asking questions about agriculture, healthcare and endorsements. Pictured from left are Cody Oshel, Nathanael Schultz, Chris Stigall, Nathan Willett and Jim Ingram (Annelise Hanshaw and Steph Quinn/Missouri Independent)
by Annelise Hanshaw and Steph Quinn
Missouri’s 6th Congressional District accounts for over a third of the state’s agriculture sales, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, with over 27,000 farms of which 94% are family operations. But issues of agriculture, rural healthcare and public schools have at times taken a backseat as Nathan Willett and Chris Stigall spar over incumbent Sam Graves’ endorsement and who is the staunchest supporter of President Donald Trump.
Former Congresswoman Cori Bush and current Congressman Wesley Bell will again face off in the Democratic primary for Missouri’s 1st Congressional District (provided photos).
by Rebecca Rivas
Wesley Bell and Cori Bush’s political careers were shaped by the protest movement that erupted in Ferguson in 2014 and grew into a national reckoning over race and policing. But for the past several years, one main issue is putting them at odds — Bell’s support for Israel and Bush’s advocacy for Palestinian liberation.
by Rudi Keller
Ballot measure fights are consuming the big money in Missouri elections this summer, with more than $27 million raised for proposals on the Aug. 4 ballot, according to reports filed this week with state and federal authorities.
There’s no hotly contested statewide candidate race on the primary election ballot, but there are four constitutional amendments, with two drawing by far the most attention and money.
by Steph Quinn
For much of the Republican primary race for Missouri’s 10th District state Senate seat, state Rep. Tricia Byrnes of Wentzville has sought to make the accelerating development of large-scale data centers a decisive campaign issue. But in recent weeks, attacks on Byrnes by backers of Republican primary opponent Mike Deering have turned attention away from issues of land use, state spending and streamlining bureaucracy.
by Rebecca Rivas
The 32nd state Senate District Republican primary represents a rematch of sorts from 2022. Carter was the only Republican primary candidate that year to unseat an incumbent, then state Sen. Bill White, and he accompanied Nichols to Jefferson City on filing day. The race is not about revenge, Nichols said. She’s been interested in public office for a long time, she said, and she now has the opportunity to go for it.
However, Carter isn’t convinced.
by Jason Hancock
Recent citizen-led initiatives have expanded Medicaid, legalized recreational marijuana, approved sports betting and added abortion rights to the Missouri Constitution. Each passed statewide. Each was opposed by much of rural Missouri.
Thanks for reading The Weekender. Did you know our daily digest is also free? Sign up here. And if you enjoyed today’s edition, please forward to a friend. Increasing our readership helps us cover more news.