Lieutenant governor of Missouri announces plans to run for position next year

Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe announced his plans Monday to seek re-election in 2020.

Kehoe spoke with us before his announcement at Memorial Park in Jefferson City in an interview you’ll only see on ABC 17 News.

Kehoe said he plans to tackle several issues on the campaign trail, including tourism, infrastructure and workforce development.

“When you talk about workforce development, we’re going to continue to need to make sure those universities have the proper amount of funding, so A, those families can afford to send their kids there, but B, so that we’re turning out great products,” said Kehoe.

He told a crowd at the campaign his campaign announcement that funding higher education is tied to workforce development.

“Kids that want to stay in our state and give them opportunities to work here and provide that extra needed skill to make sure that the employers are looking for that talent in our state.”

Kehoe told ABC 17 News last year Gov. Mike Parson proposed fixing around 200 of Missouri’s worst bridges.

The lieutenant governor said the plan would help but isn’t a long term solution.

“Finding out what Missourians think is the acceptable way to fund transportation that we’ll have to continue to talk about. And at the end of the day, the Legislature isn’t going to be able to fix that, that’s something Missourians are going to have to approve,” said Kehoe.

According to Kehoe, tourism is the No. 2 industry in Missouri. He told ABC 17 News around 42 million people visited the state last year.

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