Missouri House candidate denounced by GOP for ‘abhorrent rhetoric’ is running again
Steve West, the Kansas City Republican denounced in 2018 by his own party — and even his children — for espousing bigoted views, is making another run at the Missouri General Assembly.
And once again, the Missouri GOP wants nothing to do with him.
“Steve West’s shocking and vile comments do not reflect the position of the Missouri Republican Party or indeed of any decent individual,” said House Speaker Elijah Haahr, Majority Leader Rob Vescovo and Speaker Pro Tem John Wiemann in a joint statement issued after West filed to run last week.
“West’s abhorrent rhetoric has absolutely no place in the Missouri Republican Party or anywhere. We wholeheartedly condemn his comments.”
The House leaders said they knew of no member of the Missouri GOP, the House Republican Campaign Committee or sitting member of the General Assembly who recruited West to run for the District 15 seat.
“We find his statements to be vile, offensive and out of line with our party’s values,” they said.
West responded with a statement of his own.
“I’m honored the Republican State Committee renounced my candidacy,” he said. “Politics is a dirty business, especially party politics. I could never vote Democrat, but too often have to hold my nose to vote Republican… I resent their attempts to silence me, & muzzle my political views.”
He said Missouri GOP leaders “renounced my candidacy due to my criticism of our support for Israel, and our endless Middle East conflicts in support of Israel.”
“Every action in the middle East has been instigated and/or at the request, approval and direction of Israel… We subsidize them, & fight their wars, & this for people of wealth exceeding any nation! They can support and fight for themselves.”
West, a contractor who has a foundation repair business, is running against Adam Richardson, of Gladstone, in the August primary in the Clay County district that covers Gladstone and a part of Kansas City, North. In the 2018 primary, which he won, West received about as many votes as the three other GOP candidates combined. He lost to Democratic Rep. Jon Carpenter in the general election, receiving nearly 37 percent of the vote.
If he wins the primary this year, West will face Democrat Maggie Nurrenbern, of Kansas City. Carpenter, who has held the seat since 2013, is not running for re-election because Missouri law limits state representatives to four two-year terms.
Nurrenbern said she is “a very stark contrast to Steve West and what he represents. I’ve learned from people who are different from myself, and I appreciate the perspective that they bring to the table. I hope that we continue to see these views represented in our Statehouse.”
She said the GOP leaders could have done more than issue a statement denouncing West.
“They had a choice,” she said. “They accepted the filing fee from him. They took his money and they’re allowing him to be on the ballot. They put out their statement, but I felt it fell a little flat.”
West, 65, made headlines after the 2018 primary when word spread about a radio show and website through which he regularly spewed an array of bigotry, including homophobia, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and outright racism.
Two of his children came forward before the November 2018 election, publicly urging voters not to support their father because he was “racist,” “homophobic” and “doesn’t like Jews.”
West told The Star on Monday that he is “absolutely not anti-Semitic” and that his comments continue to be taken out of context.
But on his website, he says of Jews in Israel: “Christians mistakenly believe these are God’s chosen people. Nothing could be further from the truth. ... The New Testament tells us over and over who they are, ‘Of their father the Devil’ and, ‘The Synagogue of Satan.’”
That theme was also espoused on West’s radio show on KCXL 1140 AM, which was called “The Hard Truth with Jack Justice.”
West said Monday that he discontinued his radio show after the 2018 general election so he could concentrate on work and prepare for the 2020 election.
“My platform this time will be the same as it was,” he said. “I have not backed down. And as a matter of fact, I’m going to come on stronger than I have in the past.”
Not if she can help it, Nurrenbern said.
“That type of hate speech is appalling and does not deserve a place in our Statehouse,” she said. “We have to be stronger than ever and make sure that he doesn’t win.”
This story was originally published March 4, 2020 at 1:21 PM.
