Two candidates for statewide office, Mike Kehoe and Lincoln Hough, came to Sheridan Wednesday to rally at the Jeff & Debbie Thummel farm. Kehoe, who is currently the Lieutenant Governor, is running for Governor. He is locked in a tight three way race with State Senator Bill Eigel and Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, who has visited Worth County frequently during his tenure. Hough, another state senator, is running for Lieutenant Governor and is running as a team with Kehoe. They both have similar backgrounds as both are first generation farmers who have built up successful farming operations from scratch. The primary election is Tuesday, August 6th; polls open from 6 am to 7 pm.
Reflecting the tight nature of the race, former President Donald Trump, whose endorsement is coveted by Republican candidates, has stayed neutral in the race. “All have had excellent careers, and have been with me from the beginning. They are MAGA and America First all the way!” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social. “I can’t hurt two of them by Endorsing one so, therefore, I’m going to Endorse, for Governor of the Great State of Missouri, Jay Ashcroft, Mike Kehoe, and Bill Eigel. Choose any one of them – You can’t go wrong!”
State Representative Jeff Farnan started off by saying that in looking for a governor, he looked for someone who is pro-life, pro-guns, pro-agriculture, and pro-business and that he wanted someone who was a fellow Christian. Kehoe, said Farnan, fit all of those categories.
State Senator Lincoln Hough, who represents Springfield, said there would be no better person to vote for than Kehoe. “He brings people together,” said Hough. “He was the man who inspired me to run.” Hough started off as a first generation cattleman and came to learn that politics directly affects our way of life and that elections matter.
Mike Deering of the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association, who emceed the event, said that Kehoe provides real conservative leadership and that governing takes more than a last name and more than just yelling and screaming, taking a couple of shots at Kehoe’s two main opponents. “Together, we can elect people with country common sense,” said Deering.
Deering noted that Kehoe had the endorsements of nearly all the major farm organizations in the state, that Jay Ashcroft and Bill Eigel had no ground to stand on, and so they were attacking Kehoe. “Not one time did Mike Kehoe ever sell us out to China,” said Deering. In fact, said Deering, Kehoe and others in the legislature, including Brad Lager, worked to fix a broken system in which there was no tracking or reporting of foreign land ownership. “Mike Kehoe is being attacked because he would rather be with you guys,” said Deering.
This includes Jay Ashcroft derisively calling Kehoe “Tax Hike Mike” in fundraising emails throughout his campaign and claiming that Kehoe never met a tax increase he didn’t like. That very morning, at Kehoe rallies in Kansas City and Blue Springs, the Eigel campaign fired off a news release claiming responsibility for a person who donned a chicken suit to take Kehoe to task for not attending a gubernatorial debate that night. In that news release, Eigel’s campaign manager, Sophie Shore, referred to Kehoe as, “Kung-Pao Kehoe.”
On July 21st, the Missouri Independent reported that Eigel was attacking Kehoe over what he called, “the China Bus.” The Missouri Independent says the bus is owned by former legislator Jewell Patek, who now lobbies for Smithfield and 44 other firms, including Evergy. Smithfield operates what was once known as Premium Standard Farms, which operates on more than 40,000 acres near Princeton. In 2013, Smithfield was acquired by Shuanghui International, which is based in China.
The Missouri Independent says that Kehoe leased the bus in question out of his own pocketbook. The campaign paid for the wrapping, which includes a photo of Kehoe and his wife. Supporters of Kehoe can sign the side of the bus. The campaign pays for the fuel and other expenses as well.
The Independent says that before 2013, Missouri law banned foreign ownership of agricultural land. To accommodate the sale of Smithfield, lawmakers made it legal for up to 1% of Missouri farmland to be foreign owned. Kehoe voted for that bill. Jay Nixon, the governor at the time, vetoed the bill, but it was overridden. Nixon said that the 1% provision was inserted at the last minute without benefit of a hearing and over the objections of agricultural groups. The 1% provision still stands despite multiple efforts by legislators of both parties to repeal it.
According to the Independent, Kehoe defends his vote, saying that the relationship with China in 2013 was very different than it is today. As quoted by the Independent, he said, “Times have changed, and so we would move forward with the position I have very clearly stated that I do not want any enemy of this country owning anything.”
Since 2013, relations between the US and China have deteriorated. In 2017, President Donald Trump began a series of massive new tariffs on Chinese goods, accusing China of dumping them on America and accusing previous administrations of negotiating terrible trade deals which drove American manufacturers out of business. In 2020, Trump blamed China for the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down the worldwide economy, quit speaking with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and called COVID-19 the “China Virus.” In recent years, China has ramped up military exercises against Taiwan, which it says belongs to China. China has also forged closer ties with Russia and has supported its “Special Military Operation” in Ukraine.
In his speech Wednesday, Kehoe gave a shoutout to Rep. Farnan, Rep. Dean Van Schoiack, who represents Andrew, DeKalb, and part of Clinton Counties, State Senator Rusty Black, who represents this area, and Rep. Donnie Brown, who represents Mississippi, New Madrid, and Pemiscot counties in the southeast corner of the state. Van Schoiack, with his trademark cowboy hat, was in attendance. “You send some good people to the Capitol,” said Kehoe. He also mentioned former Sen. Dan Hegeman, saying he was one of his best friends. In addition to most of the farm groups in the state, Kehoe has been endorsed by Governor Mike Parson and most of Missouri’s law enforcement and public safety groups.
Kehoe said that he would defend the Second Amendment. He said that as someone who had a difficult childhood growing up in the St. Louis area, he once witnessed a gang fight and that they steal guns. He wanted out and became a first generation farmer, now running a cow/calf operation for the last 40 years. “Agriculture has taught me more than anything about life,” said Kehoe. “I couldn’t be prouder to be a first generation farmer.” He was able to start his operation and work his way up despite 1984 being the height of the farm crisis, which drove thousands of farms across the country into foreclosure.
Kehoe credits his single mother for his development growing up and said that it was never his dream to be in government. “My goal was to own my own bicycle,” he said. Now, he said, he wanted to give back. To that end, Kehoe has been all over the state campaigning on a platform of less regulations and strong public safety, infrastructure, and education. “I’m here to bring people together,” he said. “Our country was founded because 56 key people came together. Not everyone got what they wanted, but I’m always willing to talk with people with different views.” As to his style, Kehoe pledged, “I won’t be a flamethrower and burn the state down.”
He has been to 185 events all over the state, including every county now. It has gotten to the point where he says he won’t tell his wife, Claudia, how many stops there are left in the day. His campaign Facebook page is full of pictures from campaign events at various numerous small towns in the state. “I’m going to keep going hard,” said Kehoe. “This is a watershed moment. As a state, we feed and clothe the world, and I want to keep Missouri going.”
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