Missouri GOP governor candidates trade barbs in Northland forum

Three of the five announced Republican candidates for Missouri governor gathered at a Platte County forum Saturday, swinging elbows over tax policy, experience, education — and the recent racial discord at the University of Missouri.

“Enough is enough is enough of the slander by the tenured radicals in Columbia and those who support them,” said Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder.

He referred to some students as “pampered.”

The evening of relatively civil speeches and discussion included Kinder, former House speaker Catherine Hanaway and John Brunner, a St. Louis businessman. Missouri Sen. Bob Dixon and Eric Greitens missed the forum, held in Parkville and sponsored by the Platte County GOP central committee.

The debate also reflected the conventional wisdom surrounding the dynamics of the race: Brunner made much of his lack of political experience, while the other candidates tried to balance their times in office with a promise to bring a fresh look at the state’s problems.

“I understand what the farmer, the rancher, the small businessperson is going through,” Brunner said, “struggling over this incredible regulatory environment that’s crushing us.”

All three candidates said they support so-called right-to-work legislation for Missouri, which would prohibit mandatory labor union membership at workplaces with collective bargaining units.

The winner of the Republican nomination next August will face current attorney general Chris Koster. The Democrat came in for heavy criticism at the forum.

Hanaway — who devoted most of her opening remarks to her opposition to abortion rights — accused Koster of conducting a “sham” investigation of videos involving Planned Parenthood.

“If he can’t do the job he has, we should not promote him to be governor,” she said.

The forum in Parkville was the fourth time at least some of the Republican candidates have exchanged views in the same place this fall. Party officials have tried to formalize the debate process, but the campaigns have been unable to reach an agreement on times and places.

This story was originally published November 13, 2015 at 2:54 PM with the headline "Missouri GOP governor candidates trade barbs in Northland forum."