a day ago
Governor 'signaled support' for special election in April 2026
NEOSHO, Mo. — While an official announcement has yet to be made, Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe's office said he is looking at dates to schedule a special election for two vacant House seats, including the 160th District seat that represents Neosho.
The seat has been vacant since May when then-state Rep. Ben Baker announced he was taking a job with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Gabby Picard, communications director for Kehoe's office, said in an email Monday that the governor has not officially called for a special election for 160th District and the 95th District in the St. Louis area, but that could change.
'Governor Kehoe has signaled support for holding these elections on a date in which counties will already be holding an election, such as the April 2026 General Municipal Election,' Picard said. 'An April special election would allow Missourians to be more aware of the election taking place and educated on the candidates on the ballot.'
Angela Thomas, chair of the Newton County Democratic Party Central Committee, said on Monday she was glad the governor was considering a special election but wants it sooner.
'By calling it in April 2026, there's only one month left of session, which ends in May,' Thomas said. 'So both House districts 95 and 160 still would not have any representation because one month is not enough. That would be the time when most of the voting goes on and you would have two freshman state reps that haven't been able to read all the bills throughout the session there to vote with less than a month's experience. There's plenty of time for him to hold it in November of this year, and that is, in my opinion, when it should be held. It gives both of those districts representation for the entire session.'
The voter advocacy group VOTE417 issued a news release last week commending Kehoe for considering calling a special election.
While the 160th District, covering Neosho and much of Newton County, has been without a representative since May, the 95th District in St. Louis County has been vacant since January.
'Those Missourians were being denied their rights to representation, and this cannot be allowed whether it's a Republican- or Democrat-held seat,' Dennis Pyle, VOTE417 president, said in a statement. 'While we wish the elections had been called sooner, we commend Gov. Kehoe for doing the right thing.'
Newton County Presiding Commissioner Daniel Swem said he can understand the governor's wish to hold the election at a time when another election is going on.
'I can see that point, but I've also had a lot of citizens call who say we're not represented,' Swem said. 'Ben's gone. He did great, but we don't have a state representative now. Are they going to have someone in before session? I've told them I don't know, that's way above county commission. But I do feel like something should have been done before now.'
Swem said people in Newton County are concerned about going too long without representation in the Capitol.
'To go a whole year without a representative for our district, I don't think the citizens like that at all,' Swem said. 'The ones I've been talking to have been pretty upset. People ask, 'What are we doing? Are we going to have representation next session?' I tell them to call the governor's office.'
Messages left with Newton County Republican Party Chairman Nick Myers seeking comment were not returned Monday.
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