Kehoe declares victory in Republican gubernatorial primary
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe accepted victory in his race for the Republican gubernatorial nomination Tuesday night.
Kehoe spoke to a crowd of supporters in front of a giant American flag at his Tuesday night watch party after a concession from Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft.
Kehoe ran against multiple other Republican candidates in the August primary, including current Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and State Sen. Bill Eigel. All three candidates have been endorsed by former president Donald Trump.
Gabby Picard with Kehoe's campaign said earlier in the day that the endorsements boosted Kehoe's confidence.
"We feel that our campaign has the momentum," Picard said in an email. "Lt. Governor Kehoe has the endorsement of President Trump, Governor Parson and over 25 member-led organizations across the state that collectively represent over 500,000 Missourians. With their support and votes, we believe we will have a good result (Tuesday) night."
Polling site 538 showed Kehoe and Ashcroft tied for voter support at 26% as of July 31.
Kehoe was appointed lieutenant governor in 2018 by Parson and was elected to the position by Missouri voters in 2020. He has also previously served as a state senator.
Along with politics, Kehoe also has a background as a small-business background and farmer.
In a recent interview with ABC 17 News, Kehoe said he got into politics because he thought his business experience would be beneficial when discussing state policies.
On policy, Kehoe said he wants to eliminate personal income tax, get illegal immigrants out of the state and craft a policy to keep countries like China from owning land in Missouri.
He also wants to work to deliver sustainable health care to rural areas, support parents' choice in their child's education and make sure abortion stays illegal in the state of Missouri.
Kehoe cast his own ballot on Tuesday morning with his family in Jefferson City.
In November, Kehoe will take on Missouri House Minority Leader Crystal Quade (D-Springfield), who secured the Democratic nomination on Tuesday.
"“I’m so proud of the support our campaign has received and I look forward to continue earning it by spreading our message in every corner of our state: Missourians deserve a governor who will fight for working families, a leader who will restore our rights, not strip us of them. Missourians are sick of the extremism, sick of the government overreach of their rights," Quade said in a statement following her nomination. "Throughout my career as Minority Leader, I’ve been a champion of reproductive freedom and access to abortion, I’ve fought for working families, and as governor, I’ll never stop fighting until we’ve made Missouri the best state to live, work, start a business, and raise a family because Missourians working double shifts today have children who need to beat the odds tomorrow.”
