Mike Parson wins Missouri governor’s race. Does he plan to govern the entire state?

Mike Parson is now the elected governor of Missouri, winning his first full term Tuesday after a hard-fought battle with Democrat Nicole Galloway.

Voters gave Parson four more years, but is he prepared for the challenges that await?

“This election was about preserving freedom, capitalism and the rule of law,” he said Tuesday night, speaking to a non-socially distanced audience, with some not wearing masks.

Parson was correct when he said, “There is more work to be done. That work starts tomorrow.”

Galloway was an impressive candidate with a forward-looking vision for the state. “Campaigns are about hope and optimism, not fear,” she said Tuesday night, and she’s right.

By contrast, Parson has proven to be a cautious and unfocused leader after ascending from lieutenant governor to the state’s top job in 2018. He began his governorship with visible outreach to the mayors in Kansas City and St. Louis, and with a clear message: He would be a governor for all of Missouri, not just the rural areas that dominate the state’s politics.

Unfortunately, that promise quickly faded. Too often, Parson has treated the state’s two major urban areas as nuisances to be handled, not as essential communities with unique needs and challenges. That has to change.

In some cases, that should mean allowing Kansas City and St. Louis to make their own decisions. Nothing is more frustrating than watching our governor insist on local control for mask orders — “there is no one-size-fits-all approach,” he has said — and then support statewide, one-size-fits-all measures addressing guns, a higher minimum wage and other urgent challenges for urban areas.

In other cases, helping metropolitan areas will help the entire state. It’s clear that COVID-19 does not respect county borders or city limits. Aid for hospitals and coronavirus mitigation in urban areas can provide needed relief for rural health care providers facing a flood of illness.

Parson has called the legislature into special session Thursday to consider additional state and federal spending to fight the pandemic. It’s a good first step, but Parson must show leadership on several fronts during the coming months:

▪ COVID-19 response: In a recent teleconference, rural hospital administrators begged Parson to issue a statewide mask order and provide local authorities “cover” to do what needs to be done.

Parson should issue the long overdue order. COVID-19 cases remain unacceptably high in the state. A middle school student near St. Louis recently died of the disease, despite the governor’s previous assurance that kids will “get over” an infection. Masks will reduce disease and save lives.

If nothing else, he should consider economic incentives for cities, counties and school districts that do take precautions, and reduce funds for those that don’t. It makes no sense for Missouri to reward communities that won’t take basic steps to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Lawmakers should also consider additional resources for urban hospitals, which are being asked to take rural patients.

Parson has wavered on a vaccine, too. “Are you going to support the governor making sure every man, woman and child takes a vaccine in this state and country?” he asked during a recent campaign stop. “Not as long as I’m governor, that’s not going to happen.”

Let’s hope Parson figures out a way to encourage Missourians to take a safe, effective vaccine.

Parson refers constantly to a “balanced” approach to combating the coronavirus. There is nothing balanced about Missouri’s COVID-19 death rate, which exceeds the rates in California, Wisconsin, Colorado and Kansas.

▪ Crime: Violent crime did not take the election season off in Kansas City or St. Louis. The governor should endorse flexibility for those cities on weapons possession cases and minor drug offenses. He should also look for additional funds to help urban police departments address the upsurge in murders and assaults.

▪ Medicaid expansion: Voters overwhelmingly endorsed expanded Medicaid this year, despite the governor’s skepticism. He must now make funding the program a top priority. He should also urge lawmakers to withdraw the state from the destructive lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act.

▪ Redistricting and voting: Parson must take the lead on ensuring a fair process for drawing new congressional districts, which are not affected by the Clean Missouri initiative. Diluting votes in urban areas is unacceptable.

And voting procedures in Missouri are a muddled, confusing, unfortunate mess. The nation has shown that, given an easy path to a ballot, voters will vote.

Now it’s up to Mike Parson. If he can address these issues — COVID-19, crime, health care and voting rights — he will be viewed as one of the great governors in Missouri history. If he ignores them, history will not be kind. The work begins now.

This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 10:51 PM.