Missouri governor candidates disagree on raising minimum wage. Where do they stand?
The two major candidates for Missouri governor are offering diverging positions on raising the state’s minimum wage as voters prepare for a statewide vote in November.
Republican Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe opposes the increase, saying it would harm small businesses. Democratic House Minority Leader Crystal Quade supports it, arguing that increasing the minimum wage would help families stay afloat.
Missouri voters will decide on the measure, called Proposition A, on Nov. 5. It would gradually raise the minimum wage from $12.30 an hour to $15 an hour in 2026. On the same ballot, voters will elect the next governor — a decision that could have significant consequences.
The minimum wage proposal would change state law — not the state constitution — which means lawmakers could vote to repeal the measure if it passes. Whoever is elected governor would have the power to approve or veto any effort to repeal the plan.
Kehoe and Quade secured their party’s nominations in the August primaries earlier this month, setting up a showdown in the November general election. Republicans control every statewide office in the state and Quade faces an uphill battle.
Kehoe, who previously owned a prominent car dealership in Jefferson City, opposes raising the state’s minimum wage. In a statement to The Star, he pointed to how he started his career washing cars at age 15. He said he values “the opportunity for small businesses to employ young, hardworking Missourians.”
“This measure will destroy opportunities for young working Missourians and harm small businesses,” he said. “A good job market will raise wages for everyone. Government shouldn’t be in the business of ending opportunities for young working Missourians.”
Quade is in favor of the measure, saying in a statement that she supports “anything we can do to help working Missourians put food on the table, pay their bills, and support their families.”
“Whether that’s an increase in the minimum wage to ensure working Missourians are able to keep up with inflation, or making sure workers can accrue paid sick leave, Missouri workers need our support,” she said.
“As governor, I’ll continue to fight for working Missourians and do what we can to make Missouri the best place to live, work, raise a family, and start a business.”
The two diverging stances on minimum wage come as Kehoe and Quade have both emphasized their humble beginnings in their campaigns for governor. Quade has pointed to the fact that she was the first person in her family to graduate high school while Kehoe has highlighted his upbringing by a single mom with six children.
But their stances on minimum wage also illustrate the different lessons each candidate is promoting from their upbringings.
What does the ballot measure say?
The differing opinions come as dozens of Kansas City businesses are lining up behind raising the minimum wage, arguing that it would help boost the economy.
The ballot measure would raise the minimum wage gradually. It would grow to $13.75 an hour on Jan. 1, 2025 and to $15 an hour in January 2026. The wage would then be adjusted annually based on inflation.
Governments, school districts and educational institutions would be exempt from the increases.
The ballot measure would also require employers with 15 or more workers to provide one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. The earned sick leave provision would not apply to government workers, retail or service employees who work for a business that makes less than $500,000 a year, people who are incarcerated, golf caddies, and babysitters, among others.
Peverill Squire, a political science professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia, said that ballot measures to raise the minimum wage tend to be popular with voters.
Squire added that there has been a “vigorous economic debate” about whether raising the minimum wage helps or hurts business.
“The best conclusion is that raising the minimum wage doesn’t cause the economic pain that a lot of people initially thought it might,” he said. “In some cases, it may even provide people who are going to spend that money a little bit more money in their pockets to use, and so it goes back into the economy.”
