Roughly 150 attendees filled the Teamsters union hall in northeast Springfield on Monday night to cheer on Democratic candidates running for office.
Missi Hesketh is mayor of Forsyth, a small town near Branson. She’s running for U.S. House Representative for the 7th District, hoping to unseat incumbent Republican Eric Burlison. Poll forecasters don’t give her much of a shot. But Hesketh is upbeat.
“I am feeling wonderful," she told Ozarks Public Radio before giving her speech. "It has been an incredible experience going out and meeting so many wonderful and hard-working people in southwest Missouri. And I have been absolutely affirmed in my belief that we are not receiving the representation that we need, in southwest Missouri. And knowing that I am giving them an option on the ballot is a success for me.”
Later, Hesketh told the crowd she believes this will be the year of the woman, politically speaking. Meanwhile, key polling averages show Donald Trump leading Kamala Harris by roughly 13 points in the state of Missouri, even as the two score neck-and-neck in nationwide and swing-state polls.
The Democratic nominee for governor, downtown Springfield lawmaker Crystal Quade, trails Republican opponent Mike Kehoe by some 10 points in recent polls. I asked Quade to talk about her journey as a candidate with a party some might see as an underdog, when it comes to the Show-Me State.
"Yeah, well I appreciate that," Quade said. "You know, folks like to call Missouri a red state, but I like to say we’re actually a nonvoting state. And when you look at the numbers of folks who just don’t turn out, who are registered, we’re definitely a lot more balanced than folks think, for the numbers. And obviously, when we look at ballot initiatives, and the things that Missourians are voting for, those are issues that we have been fighting for for quite some time. I’m really excited about the opportunity this year, not only because we have great initiatives like Amendment 3, Proposition A on the ballot that are really going to turn out voters, but we also know that folks are really tired of the status quo.”
