The Kansas City Star’s endorsement in the Nov. 5 election for Missouri governor | Opinion
Here is the Missouri governor candidate we endorse for the general election. For more information about the Nov. 5 election, check out our Voter Guide, a collaboration between The Kansas City Star and the KC Media Collective. See all our published endorsements on our Elections Recommendations page.
A woman’s right to choose her own reproductive health care is on the ballot in November’s general election. Crystal Quade, a Democratic candidate for Missouri governor, understands the importance of this. Her Republican opponent, Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, does not.
In a race to replace term-limited Gov. Mike Parson, these two candidates offer different perspectives on many issues Missourians face, including abortion access for women, public safety and — important here in Kansas City — local control of the police department.
Both are well-versed in state politics. Quade, of Springfield, spent eight years in the Missouri House. She was House minority leader for six of them.
Kehoe is a former state senator representing mid-Missouri. In 2018, Parson appointed Kehoe as lieutenant governor. Two years later, voters elected him to a full term in the office.
But it is Quade who we support in this race to become Missouri’s first female governor.
Missourians need a governor who supports a woman’s right to choose her own personal health care. Kehoe isn’t that person.
Quade said she favors a yes vote on Amendment 3, which, if approved, guarantees a woman’s access to abortion services and contraception in Missouri. The state’s current abortion laws are some of the most restrictive in the country. If approved, Amendment 3 would prohibit the government from interfering with reproductive health care decisions.
“Nobody should tell you what to do with family planning,” Quade told The Star Editorial Board.
Kehoe doesn’t agree. At a candidate forum hosted by the Missouri Press Association last month in Springfield, Kehoe spoke out against the constitutional amendment that would codify abortion access statewide.
“Amendment 3 could be one of the most harmful constitutional amendments I’ve ever seen on the ballot,” he said. “I will do all I can to see Amendment 3 defeated. This law goes way too far; it’s very extreme.”
Amendment 3 is far from extreme.
We don’t know why Kehoe has taken such an adverse stance on some of the issues raised in this race. He refused to meet with us during the endorsement process. But he must account for his views on Amendment 3, as well as his flip-flopping on the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election.
In case you missed it, the Republican candidate for Missouri governor now is an election denier.
A former car dealership owner, Kehoe has the acumen to run a successful business. He served on the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission, and as a state senator represented mid-Missouri well enough.
However, as lieutenant governor, Kehoe is the state’s advocate for seniors and veterans. We’ve taken him to task for failing to protect the interests of seniors and veterans around the state in the past.
To his credit, Kehoe has used his office to support expanding vocational and technical training around the state that leads to higher-paying jobs.
“That’s why I’ve tried to lead efforts to reduce burdensome regulations and red tape, cutting taxes for businesses so that they have the opportunity to invest capital into their businesses and provide for those jobs,” he said in Springfield.
Her position on Amendment 3 isn’t the only reason we endorse Quade. She believes in working with both parties to get things done, and calls the divisiveness in the general assembly “really shocking.”
“As a Democrat, I have built relationships with both factions of the Republican Party,” she told the board. She calls her ability to reach across the aisle a “skill set,” one that she said Kehoe doesn’t possess.
We also agree with her on most issues Kansas Citians care about. She favors local control of the Kansas City Police Department and sensible gun law reform. She opposes the death penalty while her opponent vowed on the campaign trail to uphold the status quo, which we find morally wrong.
Kehoe is a proponent of the state-appointed police board that oversees the department in Kansas City. We are not.
Quade, a graduate of Missouri State University in Springfield, is well qualified to be governor and she earns The Star’s endorsement in this race.
Libertarian candidate Bill Slantz and Paul Lehmann of the a Green Party are also on the ballot.
This story was originally published October 20, 2024 at 5:05 AM with the headline "The Kansas City Star’s endorsement in the Nov. 5 election for Missouri governor | Opinion."