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Politically Speaking

Mike Carter

1 year ago
Mike Carter, a municipal judge from Wentzville, said he filed to be Missouri’s next Secretary of State because of its electability. “I identified the Secretary of State's office is having the least amount of competition, the least amount of dollars dedicated to it, and the largest opening for me to repeat what I did in the past and just ascend right to the position,” Carter said. However, the day Carter filed, two other Republicans joined the race the same day, bringing the number of Republican candidates running for Secretary of State up to eight. Along with Carter, other Republican candidates for the race include House Speaker Dean Plocher, state Senators Mary Elizabeth Coleman and Denny Hoskins, Greene County Clerk Shane Schoeller, state Rep. Adam Schwadron, St. Louis County resident Jamie Corley and St. Louis resident Valentine Gomez. House Rep. Barbara Phifer is the most well-known Democrat candidate who filed.

Mary Elizabeth Coleman (June 2024)

1 year ago
State Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman was the first candidate to jump into the GOP fray for the now-open 3rd Congressional District seat. And she ended up being one of the last contenders to file to be the next secretary of state. During an episode of St. Louis Public Radio’s Politically Speaking, Coleman detailed why she chose to switch up races — contending that the statewide post that oversees business registration, securities regulation, and elections is a better fit for what she wants to accomplish in state government. “I have always had a hard race, I have always been a proven fighter,” Coleman said. “And I have never run in a race that wasn't a multi-candidate primary, a scrum. Now, this is certainly the place that I've had the most opponents in. But when you're in a race, really what your focus is talking to the voters, getting to know them, talking about the issues that matter most to you so that they get to know you. And I don't think that the number of competitors or candidates really changes how you run that race.”

What would Bill Eigel do as Missouri's governor?

1 year 1 month ago
State Sen. Bill Eigel spent his roughly two terms in the Missouri Senate going against the grain of GOP leaders. But the Weldon Spring Republican doesn’t believe his clashes with fellow GOP elected officials will be a detriment to his gubernatorial bid. On the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air, Eigel said his anti-establishment posture puts him in a good position in a competitive GOP primary that includes Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft. In addition to Eigel's interview, St. Louis Public Radio's Jason Rosenbaum and Sarah Kellogg discuss the Missouri governor's race. And Rosenbaum sits down with St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore about his first year in office.

John Danforth

1 year 1 month ago
Former Missouri U.S. Sen. John Danforth witnessed lots changes to politics over his lifetime. Danforth, added his age 87, who served in the Senate from 1976 to 1995 and as Missouri’s attorney general from 1969 to 1976, was at the cutting edge of turning Missouri from a state that voted for Democrats for statewide posts to a bellwether that was somewhat evenly divided between the parties. But Danforth is now decrying a force that helped Missouri Republicans take unprecedented power throughout state: Former President Donald Trump. “It's possible to be a Trump Republican. It's possible to be a Reagan Republican. But the two are not compatible. They're inconsistent,” Danforth said in an interview with St. Louis Public Radio. “It's really impossible to be both at the same time.”

The chaotic 2024 Missouri legislative session is done

1 year 1 month ago
Missouri's 2024 session is over. And in some respects, the divides between Missouri Republicans, especially in the Senate, were more noteworthy than the things that were actually passed. STLPR's Sarah Kellogg joins The Politically Speaking Hour to talk about what passed — and why the supermajority era may be coming to an end. Later in the show, STLPR's Rachel Lippmann discussed St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones' State of the City address.

DSS director Robert Knodell talks next steps after startling fentanyl report

1 year 1 month ago
Missouri child abuse investigators missed warning signs of fentanyl use among parents before their young children died of accidental overdoses from the drug, according to a new state report. It found that Children's Division investigators, who are tasked with following up on claims of abuse and neglect, “lacked essential procedures, missed warning signs and left vulnerable children at risk.” St. Louis Public Radio's Jason Rosenbaum spoke with Department of Social Services director Robert Knodell on how Children's Division could change course after the report.

Missouri investigators failed to heed warnings of fentanyl use. And children died.

1 year 2 months ago
On the latest episode of Politically Speaking on St. Louis on the Air, STLPR's Jason Rosenbaum talks with child welfare advocate Jessica Seitz about a startling new reporting detailing how Children's Division investigators missed warning signs of fentanyl use among parents before those parents' children died. Rosenbaum also talks to Congressman Mark Alford about his recent trip to Taiwan and Richard Von Glahn about a ballot item aimed at raising the state's minimum wage.

Sarah McCammon

1 year 2 months ago
NPR National Political correspondent Sarah McCammon recently released The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church. It is part memoir and part exploration into the role Evangelicals play in politics. In a conversation with St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum, McCammon first talked about how her book connected with a wide audience — including people who didn’t grow up Evangelical like her.

Missouri may be close to ending sports betting impasse

1 year 2 months ago
On the latest episode of the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air, STLPR's Jason Rosenbaum talks to Missouri Independent's Jason Hancock about the ethics investigation into House Speaker Dean Plocher. Rosenbaum also spoke with Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo about Senate Democrats' expectations about the final weeks of session. And he also discussed a ballot item legalizing sports betting with Jack Cardetti of Winning for Missouri Education.

Brian Williams (2024)

1 year 2 months ago
On the latest episode of Politically Speaking, Missouri state Sen. Brian Williams discusses the state budget process and the 2024 election cycle. Williams represents Missouri’s 14th District, which takes in several dozen municipalities in St. Louis County. Williams was first elected to his post in 2018 and reelected with no opposition in 2022.

What's causing voter apathy in Missouri — and across the USA?

1 year 2 months ago
Yes, political can be interesting and exciting. But in the latest episode of The Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air, STLPR's Jason Rosenbaum talks with Saint Louis University's Ken Warren about what's driving increased voter apathy. Rosenbaum also speaks with state Rep. Tony Lovasco of St. Charles County about his call for Gov. Mike Parson to commute Brian Dorsey's death sentence. And in an exclusive interview, fashion icon and philanthropist Karlie Kloss talks with Rosenbaum about her passion for abortion rights.

Denny Hoskins (2024)

1 year 3 months ago
State Sen. Denny Hoskins of Warrensburg returns to Politically Speaking to talk about his campaign for secretary of state — and the prospects of being able to legalize sports betting in Missouri. Hoskins is one of eight GOP contenders seeking to succeed Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft.

Karlie Kloss

1 year 3 months ago
Webster Groves native Karlie Kloss took the modeling world by storm in the 2010s before launching a highly successful effort to connect young women with computer coding and, more recently, helping relaunch Life Magazine. But on Monday, Kloss discussed another passion in an exclusive interview with St. Louis Public Radio: Her advocacy for abortion rights in Missouri and around the Midwest. “I'm one of four daughters. I grew up here in the Midwest. My father is a physician. The idea of reproductive care was never political in my house,” Kloss said. “It's devastating to me the reality of what is happening and how it has become so politicized. Because to me, this is a conversation that belongs between an individual and their physician and an individual and their loved ones. To me, politicians should not be involved.”

Caleb Rowden (2024)

1 year 3 months ago
On the latest episode of Politically Speaking, Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden talked to St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Sarah Kellogg about his decision to depart from the secretary of state’s contest. The Columbia Republican had announced his statewide bid last year. He had the most campaign money out of any of the GOP competitors for the post and had experience winning tough elections.

Tony Luetkemeyer (2024)

1 year 3 months ago
Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer joins St. Louis Public Radio's Sarah Kellogg on the latest episode of Politically Speaking. The Platte County Republican is the sponsor of an omnibus bill dealing with public safety. Luetkemeyer breaks down his bill, as well as discusses other topics like sports betting, his bill last session creating a property tax freeze for seniors and how he's felt the 2024 Legislative Session has gone so far.

Scott Cupps

1 year 3 months ago
State Rep. Scott Cupps joins STLPR's Jason Rosenbaum and Sarah Kellogg to talk about his pathway from the agricultural business to the Missouri House. The Shell Knob Republican also talked about his explosive committee hearing with state Treasurer Vivek Malek, which featured bipartisan criticism of his decision to place unclaimed property decals on Torch's controversial gaming machines.

Senate Majority Leader O'Laughlin on navigating a turbulent Missouri Senate

1 year 3 months ago
On the latest episode of The Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air, St. Louis Public Radio's Jason Rosenbaum talks with Senate Majority Leader Cindy O'Laughlin of Shelbina about the state of the Missouri Senate. Rosenbaum also discussed what to expect in the second half of the Missouri General Assembly's session with STLPR's Sarah Kellogg. And in the final segment of the show, St. Louis Alderwoman Alisha Sonnier talks about her bill to make it easier to open homeless shelters in the city.

Kurt Schaefer (2024)

1 year 4 months ago
After a long hiatus from electoral politics, former Missouri Sen. Kurt Schaefer is re-entering the fray with his entry into Missouri's 3rd Congressional District contest. The Columbia Republican talked with STLPR's Jason Rosenbaum earlier this week about why he decided to run — and provided his stances on a slew of foreign policy and domestic issues.

St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones wants to bank some of the Rams settlement

1 year 4 months ago
The latest episode of the Politically Speaking Hour on St. Louis on the Air features an extensive interview with St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones. Jones talked with St. Louis Public Radio's Jason Rosenbaum about crime prevention, regional homelessness policies, and how city policymakers shouldn't spend the St. Louis Rams settlement. Later in the program, Rosenbaum and STLPR's Will Bauer talk with IL Sen. Jil Tracy about Governor JB Pritzker's State of the State and budgetary address.