In campaigning Riley said some of his priorities will be continuing to work to lower crime rates and improving student outcomes. He has also said his position as the Speaker of the Missouri House will benefit Springfield.
"In our state's entire 205 year history. Springfield, even though we're the third largest city, has only had one speaker of the House. What this means, the way that our legislative structure works, is there's no way to pass a bill through the legislature without the speaker allowing that to happen. So for us in particular here in Springfield, it means that we, as Springfield, as southwest Missouri, as our Springfield Metro, get to control the legislative agenda in the legislature for the next two years. We have a seat at every single table. There won't be a decision that gets made in Jefferson City over these next two years without Springfield's fingerprints all over it."
Kelsey Grant is a registered nurse who called himself "a middle-of-the-road candidate."
Grant, in an Informed Voter Coalition interview said he'd work to make sure public schools have the money they need to educate children well.
"We're already shorted $190 million this year. Over the summer, when they went back, it got shorted a little bit over another 40 million on top of that," he said. "Missouri ranks 49th in public school funding. We rank number ninth as is the most expensive state for students to buy their back to school supplies."
Riley won with 54.6% of the vote. In 2024 Riley ran and won unopposed.