Candidates and political parties in Missouri are already looking towards 2026, when Missouri House and many Missouri Senate seats will be up for election, as well as statewide offices. Candidates from both major parties have already declared in the race for Senate District 30. (See our reporting on Rep. Stinnett and Rep. Fogle.)
As they make their plans, Chelsea Rodriguez, Communications Director for the Missouri Democratic Party told KSMU her party is hoping to chip away at the Republican supermajority in state government.
Rodriguez said they're currently prioritizing candidate recruitment with the goal of getting a Democrat in every race and on every ballot in the state. She said when it comes to individual races, they are focusing on districts they see as vulnerable, in particular, districts that voted in favor of recent progressive ballot items, like Prop A and Amendment 3, while also electing republicans to the Missouri General Assembly and national government.
Rodriguez said, “we haven’t done a very good job of making sure voters know that if you vote for proposition a, if you vote for earned sick leave, if you vote to protect abortion rights, the Republican party is going to openly plan to undermine it and not listen to it.”
Rodriguez said she hopes getting candidates on every ballot, focusing on their messaging and competing in potentially vulnerable Republican districts will also help lift Democrat candidates in other statewide and federal elections.