Kehoe gets GOP nod for governor; will face Crystal Quade in November

Missouri Republicans ratified Gov. Mike Parson’s choice of successor Tuesday by nominating Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, rejecting the scion of a veteran political family and the disruptive tactics of the GOP’s most vocal faction.

Kehoe trailed Ashcroft in most polls until this summer, when the $16 million campaign warchest he amassed in his campaign fund and joint fundraising PAC enabled Kehoe to fill the airwaves, overwhelming opponents and surviving a late onslaught of outside spending.

“Fifteen months ago, people said we couldn’t win,” Kehoe told supporters gathered in Jefferson City Tuesday. “Our own polling showed us 35 points at an underdog… But we believed in our cause, and more importantly, you believe in us.”

The job now for Kehoe will be to bring his party together following his victory, especially bringing Eigel’s supporters into the fold. Kehoe endured attacks for his support of higher fuel taxes, votes to allow foreign ownership of farmland and used derisive nicknames like RINO (Republican in name only), “Tax Hike Mike” and “Kung Pao Kehoe.”

Those ads didn’t move Nick Schatzer of Ashland, who voted for Kehoe on Tuesday. 

“Look at our roads,” he said. “They need work.”

Schatzer said Kehoe’s background won him over. 

“I feel like government is essentially a business,” he said. “He’s run several businesses and been successful.”

While no candidate gained a significant advantage when the biggest voice in today’s Republican Party, former President Donald Trump, endorsed all three leading contenders, it did help deflect some of the criticism aimed at Kehoe.

Throughout the primary, Kehoe had his eye on the general election in a way his rivals did not.

“Missourians are a little bit sick of hate politics,” Kehoe said in a July interview with The Independent. 

Ashcroft was the first to concede shortly after 9:30 p.m., asking Missourians to “join me in asking God to bless Mike Kehoe, as he’s the Republican nominee for governor.”

Eigel conceded soon after, congratulating Kehoe and wishing him “success as you take on the responsibilities of leading our state.”

“The issues we discussed during this campaign, they’re critical,” Eigel said. “They’re crucial to Missouri’s futures, and I hope that you will address them with the same vigor and commitment that we brought to this race.”

Kehoe is the youngest of six children raised by a single mother in St. Louis. His mom worked three jobs to support the family, he said, and when he was old enough he got a job washing cars at a local auto dealership. 

When he had enough money, he bought a struggling company that built ambulances, doubling it in size over the next five years to what is now one of the largest ambulance manufacturers in the world.

At the age of 30, he bought a Ford dealership in Jefferson City, putting down roots in the community and building the business over the next two decades. He sold the dealership in 2011.

He was elected to the state Senate in 2012 and was the chamber’s majority leader when Parson appointed him lieutenant governor in 2018. Kehoe won a full term as lieutenant governor in 2020. 

If elected in November, Kehoe would be the first lieutenant governor to be elected to the office since James T. Blair Jr. won in 1956.

Crystal Quade won the Democratic primary for governor Tuesday, defeating Mike Hamra by 19 percentage points when the race was called by the Associated Press shortly before 9:45 p.m.

Quade has represented her Springfield legislative district for the last 8 years, becoming House minority leader in 2019. 

Though Missouri voters haven’t elected a Democrat for statewide office since 2018, Quade believes she has a strong chance at winning because of the ballot measure to enshrine abortion rights in Missouri’s constitution that will likely come before voters in November. 

Since June 2022, nearly every abortion has been illegal in the state with the exception of medical emergencies.

“I was there when the abortion ban was passed and stood on the House floor and shared my own personal story of abuse,” she told The Independent last month, “and so many stories and other women have shared and how these bills deeply impact our ability to plan our lives.”

Quade graduated from Missouri State University in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in social work, and then started climbing the political ladder right out of college by working for former U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill as a legislative aide. 

She grew up in a small town in Southwest Missouri and says a college internship in Jefferson City pushed her to get into politics.

“I was very frustrated with a lack of understanding of what regular working class folks go through,” she said. “It was then that I decided that I wanted to get involved, and I wanted to run for office one day.”

Before heading to cast her vote at the Kansas City Urban Youth Academy, Rebecca Yang, 28, made a list of candidates’ positions on health care access, education and community health.

A few months ago, Yang, who is a medical resident in the area, went to the Missouri Capitol with her colleagues to sit in on committee hearings and meet with lawmakers. 

“What was very surprising to us was that a lot of them didn’t seem to be informed on a lot of the issues, especially health care issues.”

She said it was eye-opening how politics can affect her industry and communities she serves.

“When it comes to women’s rights, especially when it comes to abortion issues, I think there are a lot of misunderstandings.” 

On Tuesday she voted for Crystal Quade.

“I’m hoping for fresh faces,” she said. “I’ll leave it at that.”

Nina Hampton of Columbia took a Democratic ballot at American Legion Post 202 and voted for Quade for governor.

Abortion rights is an important issue for Hampton.

“I am in favor of women’s rights to decide what to do with their own bodies,” she said. 

John Elder of Columbia also voted for Quade.

“I just felt she had the overall experience and the qualifications,” Elder said.

The Independent’s Anna Spoerre and Rudi Keller contributed to this story. 

The Independent’s Rebecca Rivas and Annelise Hanshaw contributed to this story.