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Showdowns for the GOP nominations for Missouri governor and attorney general begin

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Showdowns for the GOP nominations for Missouri governor and attorney general begin


COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri voters are set to nominate a Republican candidate for governor and other statewide offices, likely deciding the next leaders of a strongly conservative state currently without any Democratic statewide officials.

GOP gubernatorial candidates include Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and state Sen. Bill Eigel. Former President Donald Trump endorsed all three.

Republican Gov. Mike Parson is barred from seeking reelection by term limits.

Here’s a breakdown of Missouri’s top statewide Republican primaries:

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Governor

The GOP fight for the governorship appears to be between Ashcroft, who comes from a Missouri political dynasty, and Kehoe, a powerhouse in fundraising who was endorsed by Parson to be his successor.

Ashcroft has considerable name recognition after serving as secretary of state since 2017. Ashcroft’s father, John Ashcroft, served as Missouri governor, a U.S. senator and U.S. attorney general under former President George W. Bush.

As secretary of state, Ashcroft withdrew Missouri last year from a bipartisan, multistate effort aimed at ensuring the accuracy of voter rolls that has found itself in the crosshairs of conspiracy theories fueled by Trump’s false claims about the 2020 presidential election. Ashcroft has also long advocated for Missouri’s photo identification requirement for voters as a way to prevent voter fraud, although he has also maintained Missouri already had secure elections.

He’s also played a sometimes contentious role in ballot measures. Most recently, he sought to describe an abortion rights amendment that will be on November’s ballot as allowing “dangerous and unregulated abortions until live birth.” Appeals court judges ruled Ashcroft’s language was politically partisan and rewrote the summary of the ballot measure that will appear before voters.

Kehoe and his supporters have been pouring money into his campaign and advertisements to make up for Ashcroft’s lead in name recognition. Roughly a week before Tuesday’s primary, his campaign reported raising $4.2 million over the election cycle, more than three times what Ashcroft raised.

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Pro-Kehoe political action committee American Dream PAC also brought in more than $7 million, more than double the close to $3 million raised by Committee 4 Liberty, which backs Ashcroft.

Kehoe assumed the lieutenant governor’s seat in 2018. He was appointed to the position following a government reshuffling when former Gov. Eric Greitens resigned in the face of potential impeachment that year. Mike Parson was serving as lieutenant governor but ascended to the governor’s office when Greitens left. Parson then tapped Kehoe to replace him as lieutenant governor. Kehoe had been serving as the second-highest ranking state senator at the time.

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Kehoe was first elected to the state Senate in 2010 after years as a car dealership owner. As majority floor leader, he oversaw legislation that restricted unions and that Republicans said would help local businesses.

Eigel is the dark horse of the Republican gubernatorial primary. Although both his official campaign and the pro-Eigel PAC outraised Ashcroft, he’s still significantly behind Kehoe in fundraising. He also lacks the name identification both Ashcroft and Kehoe built as statewide elected officials. Eigel has only ever won election to the state Senate to represent his suburban St. Louis district. His strategy appears to be marketing himself as the most conservative candidate, at one point using a flamethrower to light a pile of boxes on fire that he later was a metaphor for how he would attack the “woke liberal agenda.”

Attorney general and other statewide seats

Current Attorney General Andrew Bailey is in a fierce fight with Trump lawyer Will Scharf to be the Republican nominee for the position and, presumably, retain his seat. This will be voters’ first chance to weigh in on Bailey, another Parson appointee named to the position after Eric Schmitt resigned to become a U.S. senator in 2022.

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Big money groups with connections to key Republican campaign financier Leonard Leo are backing Scharf. Both candidates take conservative positions, but Bailey has gone through the Missouri political system while much of Scharf’s career has been in Washington.

Secretary of State Ashcroft’s and Lt. Gov. Kehoe’s political ambitions leave their seats open and have drawn super-sized fields of Republican hopefuls.

GOP secretary of state candidates include: state Sens. Mary Elizabeth Coleman and Denny Hoskins, state Reps. House Speaker Dean Plocher and Adam Schwadron, Greene County Clerk Shane Schoeller, and political newcomers Jamie Corley and Valentina Gomez. The depth of the primary field means a winner could emerge with a small fraction of the vote.

The lieutenant governor’s GOP primary is less crowded, with state Sens. Lincoln Hough and Holly Thompson Rehder, as well as Dave Wasinger, a certified public accountant and attorney at St. Louis law firm Wasinger Daming.

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10 pounds of meth found during I-70 traffic stop, Callaway County Sheriff’s Office says

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10 pounds of meth found during I-70 traffic stop, Callaway County Sheriff’s Office says


Callaway County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested two Mexico, Missouri, residents on suspicion of possession of 10 pounds of methamphetamine, according to a social media post from the Callaway County Sheriff’s Office.

Around 10:18 p.m. on Wednesday, deputies conducted traffic stops on Interstate 70 regarding an ongoing narcotics investigation by the Sheriff’s Office investigators assigned to the MUSTANG Drug Task Force, according to the social media post.

Deputies made contact with Louetta Dorsey, 43, and Brian Wilson, 41, of Mexico, in their vehicles during the investigation, according to the social media post. The two suspects were in separate vehicles, and one was allegedly acting as a decoy vehicle for the other, according to court documents.

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During the traffic stops, deputies located approximately 10 pounds of methamphetamine. Dorsey and Wilson were arrested and taken to the Callaway County Jail, according to the social media post.

Dorsey has been charged with second-degree drug trafficking and possession of a controlled substance, according to court records. Charges for Wilson were not appearing in Missouri’s online court record system as of Friday afternoon.

A probable cause statement filed in Dorsey’s case indicates that both she and Wilson were under investigation on suspicion of distributing large amounts of methamphetamine throughout Audrain, Boone and Callaway counties.

Members of the MUSTANG Drug Task Force worked with the Audrain County Sheriff’s Office, East Central Drug Task Force and the Boone County Sheriff’s Office-MO to execute additional narcotics related search warrants, according to the social media post.

The results of the search warrants revealed firearms and drug paraphernalia commonly used for drug trafficking, according to the social media post.

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What’s closed on Juneteenth in Missouri? Check trash, libraries, banks

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What’s closed on Juneteenth in Missouri? Check trash, libraries, banks


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Juneteenth is marking five years since it was officially recognized as a federal holiday.

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Given the holiday’s relatively recent federal designation, it may not be clear to many what will be open/closed on Juneteenth. Will the post office be open? Will my trash get collected? Can I go to the Department of Motor Vehicles to renew my license?

Here’s a guide to what is open and closed on Juneteenth in Missouri.

When is Juneteenth 2026?

This year, Juneteenth will be celebrated on Friday, June 19. The holiday is also often celebrated on the third Saturday of June, with many events taking place on that day.

Communities use this day to honor resilience, culture and progress through various events, gatherings and activities. These can include church services, picnics, barbecues, parades and festivals, to name a few.

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Are federal or Missouri state offices open on Juneteenth?

Given that Juneteenth is a federal holiday, non-essential federal offices will be closed.

It’s also a state holiday in Missouri, so all local governments and state offices will be closed, as well.

Will major retailers be open on Juneteenth?

Most major retailers, grocery stores, warehouse clubs and restaurants should be open on Juneteenth, but you may want to check with your local stores to confirm business hours, as they can vary by location.

Is the post office open on Juneteenth? Will mail be delivered?

All post offices will be closed, and mail will not be delivered on Juneteenth, according to the U.S. Postal Service’s website.

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FedEx and UPS will operate more or less as usual, and their stores will be open.

Are banks open on Juneteenth?

Most banks will be closed on Juneteenth, as most follow the Federal Reserve’s holiday schedule.

Is the stock market open on Juneteenth?

Both the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market will be closed on Juneteenth.

Will trash pickup happen on Juneteenth?

Trash pickup on Juneteenth varies from city to city, so it’s best to check with your local waste management service to see whether they observe the holiday.

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Trash pickup can be delayed by one day if the scheduled pickup falls on a federal holiday.

Columbia will have normal trash pickup on Friday, according to the city’s website. Each hauler in Springfield sets its own holiday schedule. Ozark Refuse, Republic Services and Waste Management are not delayed for the holiday.

Are libraries and DMV offices open on Juneteenth?

Holiday hours can vary among Missouri’s libraries, so it’s best to check whether the ones in your area will be open on Juneteenth.

The Daniel Boone Regional Library network in Columbia and Springfield-Greene County Library District branches will be closed.

All Missouri Department of Revenue offices will be closed on Juneteenth, including driver examination stations. With that being said, some license offices will be operating during the holiday, so check the Missouri License Office Locator to see if your local office is open.

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Missouri judge strikes down nearly all state abortion regulations

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Missouri judge strikes down nearly all state abortion regulations


Nearly all of Missouri’s abortion regulations, including laws that Planned Parenthood said made it impossible for providers to prescribe medication abortion, were struck down in a ruling Thursday by a Jackson County judge. One of the regulations most widely condemned by abortion rights supporters, a 72-hour waiting period between an initial consultation and an abortion, […]



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