Star politics: Busch Valentine remains a blank canvass
The Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Missouri got a little more interesting two weeks ago, when Trudy Busch Valentine, heir to the Annheuser-Busch fortune, jumped into the race right before the filing deadline.
While she quickly earned the backing of establishment Democrats in the St. Louis area, little was known about where along the broad Democratic Party spectrum her views landed.
After interviewing her this week, I can say that much remains unknown.
Busch identified wholeheartedly with the label of “moderate,” though that covers Democratic terrain from West Virginia’s Sen. Joe Manchin to President Joe Biden. When I asked specifically what she disagrees with the party about, she criticized the slogan “Defund the Police” which has been employed by progressive activists like U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, who represents St. Louis.
“I think that’s totally wrong,” Busch Valentine said. “We need to be funding the police with the money and training they need to keep all of us safe.... I trained as an EMT a few years ago, and we were always taught that scene safety was the first thing we needed in order to go in and help others and the police many times are the ones that are keeping the scene safe, so that we can save others.”
Otherwise, she was relatively cautious, saying she wanted to go out and hear from Missourians before making clear pronouncements of her views. She repeatedly decried partisan politics and the partisan nature of our system while emphasizing the fact that she trained as a nurse.
Busch Valentine, 64, went to St. Louis University to study nursing — a decision she said was partially caused by the death of her sister, Christina, at age 8, in a car crash in 1974. She worked at Massachusetts General Hospital after graduation before returning to St. Louis to work with abused and neglected children. Then she started having a family of her own and mostly worked in a volunteer capacity, while playing a role as a prominent philanthropist in the St. Louis area.
“There are nurses that definitely have worked a whole lot harder than me and have worked every day,” Busch Valentine said. “But it’s not lost on me that I would be the first nurse elected to the United States Senate.”
Busch Valentine brought up inflation several times, but when asked, specifically, what she would like to see done to address the issue, she reverted to wanting to hear from Missourians.
“I’m going to continue hearing from the people of Missouri, including the experts on this issue, to find a solution or solutions that will work for all of us,” Busch Valentine said.
She said she would have supported the Democrats’ Build Back Better bill, which was torpedoed by Manchin last year, but felt like it could have been broken up into smaller pieces to better enable compromise.
On culture war issues, she said she supported LGBTQ rights and felt transgender participation in sports should be left up to the heads of sports commissions, not the legislature. When asked about the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill in Florida she said she would “have more on that later.”
She also said she supported abortion rights. When asked if she felt there should be any restrictions on the ability to get an abortion, Busch Valentine didn’t answer directly.
“I believe women deserve quality and compassionate healthcare,” Busch Valentine said.
Busch Valentine entered the race even as Lucas Kunce, a lawyer and former Marine who studied at Yale, has pulled in millions in campaign cash while running as an economic populist. When asked whether she felt like there was something his candidacy was missing that compelled her to get into the race instead of supporting him, she said she “wasn’t worried about that.”
“I’m glad to see him sharing his vision for Missouri, it’s so important for people to step up to run for office, it is so vital to our democracy,” Busch Valentine said. “What I’m going to be focused on and what I’m focused on right now is hearing from the people in Missouri.”
Busch Valentine has enough money that she would be able to keep up with Kunce financially if she chooses to self-fund. But she wouldn’t say how much of her own money she plans to put in the race.
Time will illuminate the amount. Candidate filings for the first quarter of 2022 are due today.
More from Missouri
The Missouri General Assembly is following a national trend, considering a number of “Parent’s Rights” bills they say will give families more say over what goes on in the classroom. The bills have been met with the swift opposition of those who regard them as just an attempt to stoke voter anger ahead of the midterm elections.
Here are headlines from across the state:
Missouri’s ‘parents bill of rights’ follows national strategy, Kacen Bayless
Attorney Kim Gardner likely to face reprimand for Greitens probe, Kacen Bayless
Prisoners’ relatives describe ‘atrocities’ behind bars, urge Missouri DOC oversight, Luke Nozicka
Report shows disparities in Missouri education during pandemic, Kacen Bayless and Sarah Ritter
Missouri trio first in state to get jail time in Capitol riot case, Judy L. Thomas
And across Kansas
Gov. Laura Kelly this week signed legislation that bans cities from passing policies that limit how much help they provide federal agencies to find and deport some undocumented immigrants, generally known as “sanctuary city” laws. Kelly has been facing pressure as it looks like Republicans were prepared to make immigration a central issue of her reelection campaign this year. But in attempting to take the edge off of their strategy, she may have alienated her base.
Will Kelly’s move against sanctuary cities cost her KCK support?, Katie Bernard and Aarón Torres
- Kelly approves smaller ticket tax cuts as fight over food tax looms, Katie Bernard
- Here are four key takeaways from the Kansas redistricting trial, Katie Bernard and Jonathan Shorman
Impacts of COVID-19 will reverberate in Kansas for at least five years, Katie Bernard
Brownback endorses Scott Schwab for 2nd term as KS top election official, Katie Bernard
The latest from Kansas City
In Kansas City …
Mayor Lucas hopes to use federal funds for violence prevention, Aarón Torres
Kansas City school leader addresses student stabbing death, Sarah Ritter
Lucas wants to reverse KCPD police chief decision to cut cold case unit, Anna Spoerre and Aarón Torres
Have a news tip? Send it along to ddesrochers@mcclatchydc.com.
Odds and ends
Kansas
Gov. Laura Kelly may have signed the sanctuary cities bill in an effort to keep Republicans off her back on immigration as she faces a difficult re-election bid this year. But that doesn’t mean it will work.
Shortly after she signed the bill, Joanna Rodriguez, spokeswoman for the Republican Governors Association, came in with a hit on Kelly in support of Attorney General Derek Schmidt, who she’ll likely face in the general election.
“Derek Schmidt and Kansas Republicans are the only ones who made this bill a priority,” Rodriguez said. “Voters know that and will see through Laura Kelly’s last-ditch attempt to save face after over a year ignoring the Biden-created border crisis and an entire term refusing to keep Kansans safe from the deadly drugs and crime pouring through our southern border.”
We’re bound to see a lot more of that, as Republicans try to tie Kelly to President Joe Biden, whose approval rating has been underwater for months, and the national Democrats.
They’ll also likely go after her on inflation, which hit a 40-year high in March.
Sharice Davids fundraising
Fundraising totals have started rolling in and Rep. Sharice Davids’ campaign reported collecting $775,000 in the first three months of 2022.
Davids raised $2.8 million in 2021 and her campaign reported having $2.3 million still in the bank as of December 31. Her most recent filing isn’t on the Federal Election Commission’s website yet.
“We’re hitting the ground running this year, with an incredible wave of support from Kansans who are ready to stand together and fight for our values,” Davids wrote in a statement. “I’m grateful for the continued grassroots energy in this campaign, and look forward to making more progress on the issues that matter to our community, from lowering costs on gas and groceries to making health care more affordable.”
She’ll likely need the money. While she beat her likely 2022 opponent, Amanda Adkins, by 10 percentage points in 2020, the Republican legislature passed a new Congressional map that will take Democrats out of her district and add more conservative Republicans. The maps are currently being challenged in court and will likely be settled by the Kansas Supreme Court.
Correction
I screwed up last week and stupidly, very stupidly, accidentally said that the stadiums for the Chiefs and Royals are in Kansas and not in Missouri. I have said three Hail Mary’s and listened to the Royals game on the radio to make it right with Kansas City.
Happy Friday
Here’s an article about how pigeons are actually very cool. Have a mimosa garnished with a mint sprig on Easter. Here’s a song by Bleachers for the road.
Enjoy your weekend.
Looking for more?
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This story was originally published April 14, 2022 at 6:59 PM.