I wanted to highlight just a few tidbits about the records of our AGs. This is why it’s so important to elect Democrats in Missouri.
Josh Harley’s election was largely bankrolled by on person.
Josh Harley was elected. After he resigned to enter Congress, he became more famous.
In 2016, Hawley ran for attorney general of Missouri. Of the $9.2 million raised for the campaign, $4.4 million was provided by David Humphreys, CEO of Joplin-based Tamko Building Products
(Article from 2017)
Joplin businessman David Humphreys is Missouri's rising Republican mega-donor
David Humphreys, president and CEO of TAMKO Building Products, is hardly a newcomer to Missouri Republican politics. But the Joplin businessman has snapped into the spotlight in recent months — and not always in a good way.
There are his massive political donations, totaling more than $17 million in the 2016 election and so far this year. There’s his big victory on right-to-work legislation in Jefferson City, a long-sought policy change for this anti-union crusader.
Among Humpreys’ most politically charged crusades: the right-to-work law recently passed by the Missouri legislature and signed by GOP Gov. Eric Greitens. It bars unions from requiring workers to join or pay dues as a condition of employment.
Critics say it’s a sop to big business that will lead to lower wages and weaker bargaining power. Proponents say it will make Missouri more competitive and give workers more freedom in determining how to spend their paychecks.
Humphreys has made it a pet cause and donated heavily to Greitens and other Republican proponents of right-to-work. He also worked to defeat some GOP state legislators who refused to override former Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon’s veto of a previous right-to-work bill.
He spent a lot of time on State Business. /s
In February 2018, Hawley joined 20 other Republican-led states in a lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act as unconstitutional.
During the campaign, Hawley criticized "career politicians" who were "climbing the ladder" from one position to another, which later became a point of bipartisan criticism of him when he ran for the U.S. Senate two years later.
Eric Schmitt was appointed by Republican Gov. Parsons.
Like most Republicans, his main concern while in State office was the welfare of the people. /s
Schmitt filed lawsuits to have the Affordable Care Act invalidated by courts. After Missouri voters approved a constitutional amendment to expand Medicaid coverage in the state, Schmitt supported Republican lawmakers who refused to implement the expansion.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in Missouri, Schmitt filed lawsuits to prevent St. Louis County from implementing public health restrictions (such as restrictions on indoor dining, mask mandates and limits on gatherings) to reduce COVID-19's spread.
In August 2021, Schmitt sued local school districts in Missouri after they implemented mask mandates. In September 2021, he sued Jackson County, Missouri, for enforcing an order that required restaurants to comply with a mask mandate. In November 2021, the Missouri Department of Health concluded a study that found that mask mandates in Missouri reduced COVID-19 infections and deaths.
Andrew Bailey was also appointed by Republican Gov. Parsons. Do you see a pattern?
Andrew Bailey is continuing the Missouri Republican officeholders’ tradition of supporting the people’s welfare. /s
Abortion In 2023 it was reported that he requested the state auditor's office to change anticipated costs related to an initiative petition from the original estimate of “no costs or savings” to "in the billions." The initiative petition is one of several submitted with the AG office to protect abortion in Missouri following a state ban. Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick told reporters that while he personally opposes abortion, there is no evidence that it would cost the state money.
Firearms On March 7, 2023, federal judge Brian C. Wimes found a state law, signed by Parson, regulating cooperation with federal authorities on firearms issues, to be unconstitutional as a violation of the Supremacy Clause. Bailey said he would challenge the decision… Disappointed with Bailey's action, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said that Missouri officials had hoped, comparing Bailey to former attorney general, now-U.S. Senator, Eric Schmitt, that Bailey "...would approach the office like a grown-up."
Gambling Lawyers under Bailey's attorney general's office withdrew from a lawsuit related to unregulated slot machines. The plaintiffs, Torch Electronics and Warrenton Oil, have contributed to Bailey's 2024 Missouri Attorney General election campaign.
Transgender care bans In April 2023, Bailey released an emergency rule requiring health care providers to screen individuals before providing gender-affirming health care to transgender people.The rule is believed would be the first such ban in the nation as it would apply to adults, rather than just children.
*Andrew Bailey is not supposed to run for Congress in 2024.
Schmitt, who Parson appointed attorney general in 2018, was elected to the U.S. Senate in November and was sworn in Tuesday.
Bailey said he plans to run for the office in 2024.
Parson said he received a commitment from Bailey that he would run exclusively for attorney general next election year. The past two men to serve in the role, Schmitt and Sen. Josh Hawley, mounted successful U.S. Senate runs that prevented them from completing their terms as attorney general.