UPDATE: Republican Mike Parson wins election for governor in Missouri
UPDATE 9:40 P.M.: The Associated Press is reporting Republican Mike Parson winning the election for governor in Missouri.
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KMIZ)
After taking over the office of Missouri governor in 2018, Mike Parson will keep his desk in Jefferson City for another 4 years.
Incumbent Republican governor defeated Democratic State Auditor Nicole Galloway, marking his first gubernatorial win.
He gave his acceptance speech at his campaign watch party Tuesday in Springfield.
"This election was about preserving freedom, capitalism, and the rule of law, it was this election is all about," Parson said. "However, there is work to be done, and that work starts tomorrow."
Parson, a Hickory County native, served six years in the United States Army before becoming the sheriff of Polk County from 1993 to 2005. Before being elected as lieutenant governor in 2016, he was elected to both the Missouri House of Representatives and the state Senate.
He became governor after former Gov. Eric Greitens announced his resignation in 2018 after a months-long legal battle over allegations of taking a semi-nude photo of his former mistress and misusing a donor list for his non-profit.
While governor, Parson has said his platforms started as workforce development and infastructure. He claims his infastructures policies are helping increase access to transporting goods throughout Missouri.
This year brought several challenges to the state, most notably the COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest.
In response to the COVID-19 crisis, Parson followed other states by closing down non-essential businesses and moving the state's schools completely online for the end of the 2019-2020 school year.
He introduced a phased-in approach to reopening the state. He lifted all statewide COVID-19 related restrictions in June, giving local leaders the choice on whether or not to keep any rules in place.
Parson has said he would not consider a statewide mask order, while some federal health officials have said a mask order in Missouri could slow the spread of the coronavirus. He has consistently pushed the importance of social distancing and mask-wearing, but said it's up to Missourians to have "social responsibility."
On one of his final campaign stops Monday, he was asked if hospitals are overwhelmed. "They are meeting demands," Parson said.
"You can't just look at hospital data, you have to look at (the pandemic) months out -- we have to be able to fight the virus along with keeping the economy open," Parson told reporters in Jefferson City during a campaign stop.
Another priority for Parson in 2020 was addressing rising violent crime in the state. He called a special session in July to address the issue.
The session garnered critisism from Democratic leaders, saying it was too late and that Parson was addressing the wrong problems.
He recently called another special session, set to begin Thursday, to distribute more CARES Act federal stimulus funding.
