The District 30 Senate seat serves Springfield and is currently held by Senator Lincoln Hough who will be term limited in 2026.
Representative Betsy Fogle currently holds the Missouri House District 135 seat, which covers northeast Springfield as well as a portion of central and east central Springfield. She was first elected to that office in 2020. She announced her plans to run for the Missouri Senate early Monday.
Republican Representative Melanie Stinnett announced plans to run for the District 30 Senate seat late last month. Stinnett has represented District 133 in west Springfield since 2022.
Democrats currently hold just 10 of 34 senate seats in the Missouri General Assembly. All current Democratic Missouri senators represent districts in the Columbia, St. Louis and Kansas City metropolitan areas.
The Missouri Democratic Party issued a statement to KSMU regarding Fogle's announcement. It reads, in part:
“The Missouri Democratic Party is unbelievably excited to have Representative Betsy Fogle, currently Captain Springfield, as a strong, unifying candidate in the race for Senate District 30. We have watched Representative Fogle work hard to make her passion for Springfield becoming the best place to live while serving in the State House and know she will continue to do so in the State Senate,” said Chelsea Rodriguez, communications director with the Missouri Democratic Party. “Senate District 30 is the first opportunity for Missouri Democrats to hold a state senate seat in Southern Missouri in a generation, and we are prepared to work endlessly to make sure voters in the 30th district understand what is at stake."
KSMU's Michele Skalicky contributed to this story.