A new political party will appear on Missouri’s ballot this year, the brainchild of a candidate hoping to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley in November.
Jared Young, an attorney and businessman from Webb City, last year announced he would run as an independent candidate in the Senate race. In April, he decided to instead submit signatures to create a new political organization, the Better Party, and invited other candidates to join.
Under Missouri law, an independent statewide candidate must submit 10,000 signatures from registered voters to the secretary of state’s office. That is the same number required to form a new political party.
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Young submitted signatures April 19, and of 21,587 signatures checked, 10,696 were valid, Madison Walker, spokesman for the office, wrote in an email. The results were certified Wednesday.
Along with Young, the Better Party has nominated Blake Ashby of Ferguson as its candidate for the 1st Congressional District seat currently held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Cori Bush.
Those are the only two candidates the party will field this year. Candidate filings had to be submitted with the petitions, Walker wrote.
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Young is campaigning as an alternative to politicians out-of-touch with voters.
“Both parties have become overly obsessed with holding onto or regaining power at all costs,” Young wrote on Facebook after the signatures were confirmed. “In their current form, they no longer represent the hopes and beliefs of most Americans.”
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According to his first-quarter campaign finance report, Young has raised $364,377 for his campaign and had $110,650 on hand. Young will be listed fourth on the November ballot for Senate.
Hawley, unopposed for renomination, has raised $7.6 million since January 2023 for his campaign committee and had $5.5 million on hand March 31. Democrat Lucas Kunce leads a four-person field for the Aug. 6 primary with $7.7 million raised and $3.3 million on hand.
The other Democratic candidates are state Sen. Karla May of St. Louis, December Harmon of Columbia and Mita Biswas of St. Louis.
The Tigers strung together their fifth straight win, this time defeating Arkansas Pine Bluff in a 112-64 blowout at home Sunday afternoon. The second half struggles that have typically come to bite them didn’t appear, instead pushing the same offensive pace until the very end of the contest.
Junior Mark Mitchell was the star of the show for Missouri. The forward scored a season-high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting, paired with five rebounds and a block. Although not a threat on the perimeter, his offensive prowess inside the paint gives the Tigers a consistent option.
Graduate senior Caleb Grill continued his dominance from behind the arc, dropping 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and 4-of-8 shooting from 3-point range. Senior Tamar Bates also added 13 points of his own on 5-of-8 shooting from the field.
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Perhaps the most impressive performance of the night, however, came from sophomore Anthony Robinson II. The guard was everywhere on both sides of the ball, recording a double-double of 11 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and a block on 3-of-7 shooting from the field.
It was the first double-double of Robinson’s young career at Missouri.
The Tigers did struggle to shoot the 3-pointer compared to previous games, finishing with just a 9-of-32 clip. That was negated by their 54 points in the paint, as well as their ability to prevent the Golden Lions from having success in their own right.
Arkansas Pine Bluff shot 9-of-28 from three — a more efficient night of shooting, but on less attempts compared to Missouri. It also turned the ball over 19 times, allowing the Tigers 33 easy points off them.
Missouri also had an uncharacteristically good game under the basket, grabbing 19 offensive rebounds that resulted in 24 second-chance points. Five of those rebounds came from Robinson.
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Before Thanksgiving arrives, the Tigers will go up against Lindenwood at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in Mizzou Arena.
Arkansas Pine Bluff
Christian Moore
Anthony Robinson II
Zach Reinhart
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Tamar Bates
Caleb Jones
Annor Boateng
Klemen Vuga
Mark Mitchell
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Quentin Bolton Jr.
Josh Gray
Who: Missouri Tigers (4-1, 0-0 SEC) vs. Arkansas Pine-Bluff Golden Lions (1-5, 0-0 SWA)
What: Missouri’s sixth game of the 2024-’25 season
Where: Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo.
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When: Sunday, November 24, 4:00 p.m.
TV: ESPN+, SECN+
Radio: Tiger Radio Network
Series: Missouri leads 3-0
Last Meeting: Nov. 6, 2023: Missouri opened the season with a 101-79 win over Arkansas Pine-Bluff. Five different players scored over 15 points for Missouri, including Sean East II, Nick Honor, Noah Carter, Caleb Grill and Tamar Bates.
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Last Time Out, Missouri: The Tigers handled business in a 91-56 win over Pacific. Guard Caleb Grill continued a hot streak, leading the team with 25 points, including 21 from three-point makes. Grill also notched a career-high with five steals.
Last Time Out, Arkansas Pine-Bluff:The Golden Lions fell on the road to Texas Tech, losing 98-64. Arkansas Pine-Bluff shot 52.1% from the field while Texas Tech shot 59.7%. The Golden Lions were led by guard Christian Moore with 20 points.
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Mark Gronowski threw for 258 yards and two touchdowns and Amar Johnson ran for two touchdowns and South Dakota State overwhelmed Missouri State 45-9 on Saturday and claimed a share of the Missouri Valley Football Conference regular-season title.
With the win and North Dakota State’s loss to South Dakota, the Bison, Coyotes and Jackrabbits (10-2, 7-1) all secure a three-way tie for the Missouri Valley Football Conference regular-season title.
Missouri State (8-4, 6-2) entered averaging 37 points per game.
It was Missouri State’s final game as a Missouri Valley Football Conference member before joining Conference USA and the FBS ranks in 2025. Missouri State kicks off next season on Aug. 30 when it travels to Southern Cal.
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