
It didn’t take Missouri’s five major Republican candidates long to get to the meat and potatoes of what they think is needed to move the state forward.
The menu of Republican Party entrees, laid out during the Nov. 3 forum in Jefferson City, was much the same as it has been for years:
- Fewer regulations;
- Lower taxes;
- Limits on lawsuits;
- Restrictions on abortion;
- Enacting a right-to-work law to curb union rights.
The five GOP contenders are Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder, former state House Speaker Catherine Hanaway, businessman John Brunner, author and former Navy SEAL Eric Greitens and state Senator Bob Dixon of Springfield.
Once they made their conservative credentials clear, each took turns jabbing at Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon and Attorney General Chris Koster, the only Democratic candidate for governor.
MEDICAID
All five also reaffirmed their opposition to expansion of the state’s Medicaid program, despite pleas from many of the state’s medical facilities supporting expansion.
TRANSPORTATION
All five acknowledged concerns about the state’s transportation challenges, but none proposed hiking the state’s gasoline tax, which is used to fund road and bridge repairs.