Democrat Michela Skelton to again seek state legislative seat

Democrat Michela Skelton said Thursday that she plans to challenge state Sen. Caleb Rowden in November 2020.

In a message posted on her campaign Facebook page, Skelton said Rowden and his Republican colleagues has “launched an all-out assault” on women, working families and small farmers.

“Our communities and our children can’t take another four years of Rowden’s brand of leadership, with a Senate that pushes job-killing, anti-democratic legislation on behalf of corporate lobbyists and millionaire donors,” Skelton said in the Facebook post.

Rowden, whose district is made up of Boone and Cooper counties, is the state Senate majority leader. He was a state House member before winning the 19th Senate District over Democrat Stephen Webber in 2014.

Skelton says she plans to focus on issues dealing with health care, organized labor, education and rural investments. As of Friday, she did not have an active campaign committee on file with the Missouri Ethics Commission.

Skelton has twice run unsuccessfully for a seat in the Missouri General Assembly — she lost a special election for the 50th House District to Republican Sarah Walsh in August 2017 and a rematch of the same race last November.

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