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Missouri Freedom Caucus celebrates its showing in statewide primary elections • Missouri Independent [1]

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Date: 2024-08-08

The right-wing Freedom Caucus fared well in Missouri’s GOP primaries Tuesday, grabbing its first statewide nomination and displaying the reach of its message in other races.

State Sen. Denny Hoskins of Warrensburg emerged from an eight-person field to get the Republican nomination for Secretary of State.

Freedom Caucus member state Sen. Bill Eigel finished second to Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe in the race for the Republican nomination for governor, garnering 32% of the vote and placing ahead of Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, son of former U.S. Attorney General, U.S. senator and Missouri Gov. John Ashcroft.

State Sen. Rick Brattin, a founding member of the Missouri Freedom Caucus, defeated well-funded primary challenger Dan Houx by a wide margin. And candidates endorsed by the caucus won the GOP nomination in four of the five state Senate races they contested.

With crowded primary fields for a number of the statewide seats, the caucus members were able to garner 25% to 30% of the vote, enough to boost Hoskins to victory and bring Eigel within striking distance of the winner. In Missouri in recent years, winning the Republican nomination for statewide office has been the key to general election triumph.

Hard-right conservatives have been a thorny issue for Senate Republican leaders for several years. What was considered to be a gentleman’s agreement to work together in the 2021 legislative session failed to appease the conservatives, who eventually announced they were joining the Freedom Caucus for the 2024 legislative session.

The Freedom Caucus is a national organization, with members in Congress and in state legislatures across the country. The mission of the Freedom Caucus is posted on its website: “We need patriots who will serve in our state capitals to fight federal overreach and stand firm against those — in both parties — who prioritize seizing political power over representing constituents.”

In the Missouri Senate this year, the five members of the Freedom Caucus frequently separated themselves from the other 19 Republicans over legislative priorities, creating a dynamic that led to record-breaking filibusters but not major policy wins.

For example, the Freedom Caucus members refused to approve a historically large state budget. That empowered Democrats beyond their 10-seat Senate membership as Republican leaders needed their votes to pass the budget.

Nonetheless, the primary results show that the Freedom Caucus vision remains powerful among many Missouri conservative voters, even with establishment Republican headwinds.

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[1] Url: https://missouriindependent.com/2024/08/08/missouri-freedom-caucus-celebrates-its-showing-in-statewide-primary-elections/

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