Missouri Republicans hope to continue control of governor’s office

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

On July 27 at 7:25 p.m., former President Donald Trump gave his endorsement in the race for Missouri's governor.

But instead of bestowing it to one candidate in the nine-person race, Trump offered support to one-third of the field.

"All have had excellent careers, and have been with me from the beginning," Trump said of the candidates on Truth Social. "They are MAGA and America First all the way! I can't hurt two of them by by Endorsing one so, therefore, I'm going to Endorse, for Governor of the Great State of Missouri, Jay Ashcroft, Mike Kehoe and Bill Eigel. Choose any one of them - You can't go wrong!"

Those three -- Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and state Sen. Bill Eigel (R-Weldon Spring) -- have run full-fledged statewide campaigns for months. Attack ads from each have focused on immigration and China. The winner of the Republican primary will seek to continue the party's control of the Governor's Mansion, which its held since former Gov. Eric Greitens took office in 2017.

The three-leading candidates come with years of experience in politics. Ashcroft was elected secretary of state in 2016 and again in 2020, serving as the state's chief election officer. Kehoe was first elected to the state senate in 2010 representing Cole and surrounding counties, then was chosen by Gov. Mike Parson to be lieutenant governor in 2019. Kehoe won election in 2020. Eigel won election to the state senate from a district in St. Charles County in 2016, where he's won two terms.

The three candidates told ABC 17 News that their administrations would work to eliminate the state's income tax, which brings in several billion dollars to the state budget every year. Each of them see a state-income tax elimination as a way to drive further spending and economic activity in the state.

Ashcroft said cutting the taxes would make the state stick closer to paying for its core functions, including those its constitutionally required to pay for.

LINK: Full interview with Ashcroft

LINK: Full interview with Eigel

LINK: Full interview with Kehoe

"We could actually require ourselves to cut government and we could return $8.5 billion, and that will be $8.5 billion every year back to the people of this state to use," Ashcroft said. "And they will be so much more efficient and how they use it than our state government."

Kehoe said the state needs to be wary of spending as federal money made available through COVID-19 relief programs comes to an end. He was part of the state senate when lawmakers approved the last tax cut in 2014. Cutting income taxes further, he said, will require good planning.

"You have to have a ramp, a reasonable ramp to do that," Kehoe said. "We've done that. We've taken it down 1.3% in the last five years, and we've still have funded essential services, education, public safety, etc. So we believe we can get there."

Eigel's tax priorities also include cutting the state's personal property tax, which Missourians pay every year on things like cars and trailers. Eigel said there was not a state agency he thought was spared from cost cuts, including a dramatic reduction of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

"I typically choose economic plans that benefit every person in this state, not just the powerful few down in Jefferson City that hire the most lobbyists," Eigel said. "So when we reduce the tax burden, we're going to have a Missouri that's competing every single day and exceeding what states like Tennessee and Florida, Texas can put forward."

Candidates and political action committees have made China a core topic in attack ads. Some focus on Kehoe's vote in 2013 to allow pork producer Smithfield -- now owned by Chinese company WH Group -- to continue operating in northwest Missouri. Kehoe said the vote was meant to keep the jobs already there going, and said the U.S. had a different relationship with China back then.

"They're clearly our enemy," Kehoe said of China. "They should not be able to own any business here in the state of Missouri."

The three supported a ban on any foreign purchase of Missouri farmland. The Department of Agriculture said foreign-owned companies owned 0.43% of Missouri's farmland. Eigel said he would support a constitutional requirement that foreign owners of farmland divest themselves from their foreign ownership to American ownership.

"And because we've lost more than 50,000 acres of Missouri farmland to China and even more acreage to other countries, I think we need to get that land back and have it transferred or sold back to American hands," Eigel said.

Ashcroft said he would watch how an ongoing court battle involving Arkansas' law banning foreign ownership of land would play out when asked if he supported divestiture.

"First thing we have to do is we have to stop the sale and then we have to work through the legality of how we can force that divestiture," Ashcroft said.

Each of the candidates has also promised action on curbing the effects of illegal immigration on Missouri, including plans to declare an invasion in the state. Eigel said his plan involves declaring an invasion under the state constitution, which would give his office and law enforcement the power to detain those suspected of being in the country illegally and deport them to the nearest port of entry.

"So this should have been done years ago by the Parson administration," Eigel said. "We don't actually have to wait until January and a new governor's administration to get this done, but they continue to do nothing."

Ashcroft suggested the governor declare an invasion under the U.S. Constitution. Gov. Greg Abbott has legally sparred with the White House this year over a similar move he made. Ashcroft said Missouri should also cut any programs that might incentivize someone in the country illegally from staying.

"We need to move these illegal immigrants out of our state," Ashcroft said. "The best way to do it is to initially make it so they don't want to be here, to make it so they realize they can't get a job here because they're breaking the law in this state, to make them understand that they're not going to get taxpayer benefits in their state so they'll move elsewhere, to make sure that when we encounter illegal aliens with our police and our law enforcement, they're turned over to ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement)."

Kehoe said he was hopeful a Trump administration would help the states combat illegal immigration as its found. While he did not mention a specific deportation program, Kehoe said he would support local law enforcement in their efforts to remove people in the U.S. illegally.

"I'm hopeful that he will be the president to work on him to make sure we stop immigration," Kehoe said. "And then the people that we have here illegally, as our law enforcement officers find them, we want to give them the tools to be able to get those folks out of our state," Kehoe said.

Millions of dollars have been spent by the three to win the election, according to their July 29 campaign finance filings.

• Mike Kehoe reported having 1.2 million on hand and has spent 3.1 million on the election. American Dream PAC, the committee supporting Kehor, reported having more than $331,000 on hand and has spent $10.5 million so far.
• Ashcroft's candidate committee had $92,000 on hand ans has spent $1.7 million. The PAC Committee for Liberty reported about $58,000 on hand and $2.8 million in spending.
• Eigel's committee reported $135,000 on hand, with $1.5 million spent so far. The Believe in Life and Liberty PAC, or BILL PAC, had more than $245,000 on hand, and $3.8 million spent on the election.