Missouri’s 50th House District race brings health care, university funding into focus

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

John Lane has never run for public office. However, just hours before the Sept. 10 deadline to register as a candidate, Lane tossed his hat in the ring for Missouri's 50th House District race. The move came after former Republican candidate Joshua Blakeman abruptly dropped out of the race in August, putting Demoract Gregg Bush in a position to claim the uncontested district. 

The seat is open after Rep. Doug Mann (D-Columbia) announced last year that he would not seek reelection, citing mental health concerns. The district includes much of south Columbia and Boone County areas bordering the city on the south and east.

Lane, the vice chair of the Boone County Republicans Central Committee, was calculated in his decision. He says he was actively researching other candidates and attended a candidate forum which reignited his passion for politics. He entered the race after working with the Central Committee to earn a nomination. However, one issue pushed him over the top: his love for the University of Missouri, a school that he, his father, and his grandfather all graduated from. 

“I think the biggest reason that I found to run was that there was a story done about how my opponent intended to defund Mizzou.  If the unions that were supporting him didn't get what they wanted from the university,” Lane said. “I grew up in Clinton but came back here for college and have been here ever since. So having had a small business here, I knew the importance of the university to the economy and the importance of the students to the staff at a lot of our businesses,  but also the importance of University Hospital and what it brings to the community.” 

LiUNA Local 955 has endorsed Bush. The group has expressed concerns about pay, benefits, and working conditions for workers at the university. However, Bush called Lane's claim about defunding “exactly the kind of internet rumor that has brought chaos to Springfield, Ohio.” In a text message to ABC 17, he pointed out that the University of Missouri has been his Alma Mater and workplace for the past 18 years. However, he added that while he was not forced to sign a pledge from the union, he chose to stand with his fellow employees to hold Mizzou accountable. 

Bush defeated Jeff Basinger during the primary election by fewer than 600 votes, something he levies was aided by his skills and training as a nurse. 

“The voters want somebody with the science background who can talk to people and listen to people and come up with real common sense solutions going into the future for all Missourians,” Bush said. “The reality is this, as a nurse, I've never checked a political party before. I've checked the pulse.  You do the right thing for the right thing that's in front of you, for the right thing for Missouri, for the right thing for the patient. 

Lane admitted that he is at a bit of a disadvantage since he joined the race late and did not have a primary election to help boost his name recognition. However, he is still confident that he can win his first election. 

“I haven't had the opportunity to knock on as many doors as the other candidates have,  but that's something I'm going to try to make up time over the next month as we near the election in four weeks. It's also a disadvantage from a fundraising standpoint because a lot of times you'd have all that lined up before you even announced the candidacy for the primary,” Lane said. “It has its advantages, too, because I got to become familiar with what the different candidates for all the offices were standing for and learn more about what's important to the community before.” 

Missouri's 50th House District race is a race filled with firsts. Bush's campaign website says he will be the only nurse in the Missouri House if elected. His health care background is reflected in his campaign message. Bush believes that Republican policies have put a strain on health care workers in the state. He claims this has caused hospitals outside of Columbia to flee Missouri. 

“There are counties in the state that don't have an OB-GYN.  There's women that are needing to drive hours in order to find an OB to help with their pregnancy,” Bush said. “If they have complications through their pregnancy. We have physicians who need to call a lawyer to find out what it is that they can do because they're not able to treat the patient in front of them. We had hospitals that were bought by out-of-state concerns and realized, ‘Oh, Missouri is not going to be investing in our health care system’ and then they close up shop and nobody is around to pick up the slack.” 

Lane’s campaign is focused on education, public safety, safe streets, and the economy but he says his top priority if elected would be ensuring the University of Missouri is fully funded.

“We've been fortunate to have Republican representation in Boone County for the last several years and that certainly helped with the budget and bringing resources to the University,” Lane said. “We've got such a cool opportunity right now with the next-gen facilities and the opportunity to build another research reactor  that we need to capitalize that and really put  Columbia and mid-Missouri on the map as far as health care.” 

Bush says his campaign strategy has not changed since Lane entered the race. Neither has his stance on reproductive rights since Amendment 3 was placed on the ballot. 

“The thing that I changed on my campaign literature was a big sticker that says ‘Yes on 3’. That is something that I've been endorsed by two organizations around abortion, around reproductive rights and abortion access,” Bush said. “That has not changed from my values. That's not going to change through the election and going into the future.” 

Bush warned that even if Amendment 3 passes there are going to be attacks on reproductive freedoms if the right people are not in office. 

“There's still going to be attacks on IVF, there's still going to be attack on women's rights and we need somebody with a science background who's actually lived this and lived along with people to be able to go down there, tell the stories, given a a microphone and an amplifier to other people to tell their stories and make sure that we deliver for the women and for families here in Missouri,” Bush said.  

Lane says he has his own personal beliefs on “the sanctity of life” but also noticed several flaws in Amendment 3 that concern him that have nothing to do with reproductive rights. 

“There's certain sections of it that refer to mental health and make that kind of a one-size-fits-all for everyone. Some of that language is what concerns me as far as taking parents out of the decision-making process for minors,” Lane explained. “I mean, for as long as I can remember, and it may be always parents have had the responsibility for making a decision for their minor children.”