Elections
Ohio voters are deciding if it’s too easy to pass ballot measures. Other states are watching
CLEVELAND — Ohioans over the last century have used the state’s ballot initiative process to pass constitutional amendments that raised the minimum wage, integrated the National Guard and removed the phrase “white male” from the constitution’s list of voter eligibility requirements. Now, lawmakers want to make it much tougher for an initiative to be approved. […]
Congress, GOP presidential candidates split along party lines over Trump indictment
WASHINGTON — Members of Congress and Republicans competing against Donald Trump in the presidential primary quickly reacted Tuesday to the latest indictment against the former president, falling largely along party lines. This one, by a federal grand jury, stems from Trump’s alleged efforts to subvert the 2020 election after Election Day and leading up to […]
‘Off the bench’: Jay Nixon says No Labels post is reaction to initiative limits
Republican efforts to change the rules for initiatives and administrative delays that force petitioners to go to court spurred former Gov. Jay Nixon to return to political action, he said Tuesday. During an online town hall for the No Labels organization, Nixon referred repeatedly to legislation that would make it more difficult to gather signatures […]
Former Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon enlists in effort to build new political force
A national campaign to field a third-party presidential candidate in 2024 enlisted former Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon as director of its effort to make the ballot in all 50 states next year. Nixon, a Democrat who was governor from 2009 to 2017 following 16 years as state attorney general, has generally stayed out of politics […]
Iowa Republicans cheer Trump as most opponents tread carefully
Iowa Republicans emphasized they were open to hearing from all 13 presidential candidates Friday at the state party’s Lincoln Dinner, but many in the audience were ready to send former President Donald Trump back for a rematch. “In Iowa, we are a neutral, objective state,” Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann said. “We’re going […]
DeSantis says Harris is spreading ‘phony narratives’ on Florida Black history curriculum
CHARITON, Iowa — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday in Iowa that Vice President Kamala Harris is spreading “phony narratives” about the Black history curriculum in Florida. DeSantis, who is seeking the GOP nomination for president, spoke to reporters about the conflict after a campaign event in Iowa. Earlier in July, the vice president said […]
A year after Missouri Senate collapse, Eric Greitens reemerges to bash Ron DeSantis
Eric Greitens, the disgraced former Missouri governor whose Senate campaign cratered last year under allegations of domestic abuse, tip-toed back onto the political stage this week with a column for a pro-Trump news site declaring Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential hopes dead. In the column entitled “Accept It, Already: DeSantis is Done,” Greitens writes that […]
GOP primary for Missouri treasurer now a three-way race
Missouri Treasurer Vivek Malek may have to fend off at least two of his fellow Republicans in the GOP primary next year, after another state legislator joined the race on Monday. Malek, who was appointed treasurer by Gov. Mike Parson in January, was already facing a primary challenge by state Rep. Cody Smith, a Carthage […]
National bill on voting standards pushed anew by Democrats in Congress
WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats on Tuesday said they plan to again introduce a bill to set national voting standards in response to state legislatures passing strict voting laws. The bill, known in a previous Congress as the Freedom to Vote Act, would establish national standards for early voting, mail-in ballots and protection of poll workers and volunteers […]
U.S. House Republicans pass overhaul of federal elections system out of committee
WASHINGTON — On a party-line vote, the U.S. Committee on House Administration on Thursday night passed a bill that would enact strict new voting laws for states, such as requiring copies of IDs for voting by mail, and set penalties for states that allow voting by noncitizens in local elections. The 224-page bill, H.R. 4563, was […]
Judge hears challenge Missouri Senate redistricting plan splitting Buchanan County, Hazelwood
Residents of five Missouri Senate districts – and perhaps a sixth – will have to wait until this fall to learn if the boundaries will be revised. At the end of a day-long trial Wednesday, Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem directed attorneys challenging and defending the map drawn last year to submit final briefs […]
Republican state senator launches bid for Missouri lieutenant governor
A longtime Republican state lawmaker announced Tuesday she is running for Missouri lieutenant governor. Holly Thompson Rehder, who served eight years in a Sikeston-based Missouri House seat before being elected to the state Senate in 2020, will run to replace Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe. Kehoe is giving up his office to run for governor next […]