Author: Mark Holguin

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 the secretary of state’s contest.

The Columbia Republican had announced his statewide bid last year. He had the most campaign money of any of the GOP competitors for the post and had experience winning tough elections.

But during his appearance on Politically Speaking, Rowden cited, among other factors, how Missouri politicians no longer value consensus building.

“I think the focus on the red line-type things that tend to get people ginned up and the use of rhetoric and language that I think folks sometimes know to be not true, but just do it to get a little rise out of out of the constituency — that just was not ever something that was appealing to me,” Rowden said. “I don’t care enough about being in politics to not be willing to explain the nuance to people.”

Here’s what Rowden talked about on the show:

• The impact of his departure from the secretary of state’s race and whether it could give a leg up to Sen. Denny Hoskins — a Warrensburg Republican who has clashed with GOP leadership for years.
• His skirmishes with the Missouri Freedom Caucus, including over the timing of passing a ballot item making it harder to amend the state’s constitution. 
• Why he voted to take out so-called “ballot candy” on the constitutional amendment threshold increase, including a provision barring noncitizens from voting. It’s not out of the question that the language could be put back in when the proposal goes through the House.
• How passing a budget and reauthorizing a critical tax on hospitals that funds the state Medicaid program could be very difficult.

Rowden was first elected to the Senate in 2016 after serving two terms in the House. He was reelected in 2020 but will leave after the 2024 session due to term limits.
His district now only consists of Boone County, which is Democratic-leaning. Former Democratic state Rep. Stephen Webber, whom Rowden defeated in 2016, is running for the Senate seat.

Over the last couple of legislative sessions, efforts to legalize sports betting have gotten held up in the Senate over disagreements on whether the state should also authorize video lottery terminals.

This year, similar legislation that would authorize sports gambling has not even received a hearing in the Senate, while a proposed constitutional amendment ballot item that would legalize sports betting is currently collecting signatures.

Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, R-Parkville, has sponsored sports betting legislation the last couple of years. He said he filed a bill this year to keep the conversation going.

“This legislation is about two things: one, making sure that we’re keeping those educational tax dollars here in Missouri and not subsidizing the schools of our border states. And secondly, making sure we’re setting up a regulated environment where consumers are protected,” Luetkemeyer said.

The bill has stalled in prior sessions and is unlikely to pass this year. Sen. Denny Hoskins, R-Warrensburg, the main proponent of video lottery terminals, which has stalled sports betting legislation, is serving his final year.

Luetkemeyer believes that while there are other senators in support of the gaming machines, he doesn’t think they will obstruct the sports betting legislation after Hoskins is gone.

“My belief is the people who are supportive of that will want to try to attach it to the bill, but they’re not going to go the next further step, which is if they cannot attach a VLT amendment to a clean sports wagering bill, they won’t stand up and kill the underlying legislation,” Luetkemeyer said.

Luetkemeyer is the latest guest on Politically Speaking. Here are some other topics he spoke about on the show:

• Legislation that would provide restitution to wrongfully incarcerated people. This was a reason why Gov. Mike Parson vetoed last year’s public safety bill. Luetkemeyer said he would like to try to pass the bill again in a future session.
• Provisions within his public safety bill, including a measure that creates a penalty for celebratory gunfire.
• A bill he’s sponsoring this session that offers a fix to his legislation passed last year that provides a property tax freeze for seniors. Currently, some seniors who have pensions but don’t collect Social Security do not qualify for the property freeze.
• How he feels the 2024 legislative session has gone so far.

Luetkemeyer was first elected to the Missouri Senate in 2018. He represents the 34th District, which includes parts of Platte and Buchanan counties.
Outside of the legislature, Luetkemeyer practices law in Kansas City.

In late February, Missouri Treasurer Vivek Malek ordered the removal of stickers placed by his office on unregulated gaming machines that advertised the state’s unclaimed property program.

That decision came swiftly after a House committee hearing where Republicans and Democrats criticized Malek for authorizing the ads.

Rep. Scott Cupps, R-Shell Knob, who chairs the committee that questioned Malek, is the latest guest on St. Louis Public Radio’s Politically Speaking. He said it wasn’t his intent for the hearing to be adversarial.

“I just wanted actual raw answers to the questions that we had like, ‘Who authorized this?’ ‘When was it authorized?’ ‘Whose idea was it?” Cupps said.

Here’s what else Cupps talked about on the program:

• His background prior to becoming a member of the House.
• Serving on the House Budget Committee, which he says is a lot more work than he initially believed it would be.
• Criticism from some Republicans that the budget has gotten too big.

Cupps represents the 158th House District, which includes parts of Barry and McDonald counties.

He was first elected in 2019. Outside of the legislature, Cupps farms and ranches full time. He also taught high school agriculture education.

U.S. Rep. Eric Burlison said transitioning from a member of the Missouri General Assembly to Congress has resembled being a cast member on the television show “The Office.“

The Battlefield Republican began representing Missouri’s 7th Congressional District, which takes in portions of southwest Missouri, in 2023 after serving about 12 years in the state House and Senate. A big chunk of his tenure in Congress so far has featured high-profile and bitter leadership fights over who should lead his caucus.

“I would certainly say it has not been boring,” Burlison said on an episode of the Politically Speaking podcast. “I never thought that I would be in the basement of the United States Capitol with 200 Republicans that are screaming at each other.”

Burlison said the inability for the GOP-controlled House to accomplish many policy initiatives can be disconcerting, adding “when you’re sitting in the boat has no rudder, and there’s nothing, no propeller, there’s no wind, and you’re just sitting there — very frustrating for a guy like me.”

“I’m a guy who just wants to get things done,” Burlison said. “I want to actually move the ball forward and be successful.”

Other topics Burlison discussed on the show include:

• Whether former President Donald Trump will be able to consolidate GOP support.
• Why he opposes the United States providing military assistance to Ukraine without taking more action on immigration policy.
• The need for Republicans to embrace early voting methods instead of reflexively denigrating them. He noted that in California, Republican groups made efforts to get voters to cast a ballot early, and that led to GOP candidates winning elections.
• The impact of a potential ballot measure legalizing abortion on Missouri’s 2024 election cycle.

Burlison spent eight years in the Missouri House, where he backed of legislation that would institute “right to work” in the state. That legislation prohibits unions and employers from requiring workers in a bargaining unit to pay dues as a condition of employment. Voters eventually rejected it.

After two years away from the legislature, Burlison won a state Senate seat taking in portions of Greene and Christian counties. He became a member of the now-defunct Conservative Caucus, which often battled GOP Senate leadership on a multitude of issues.

In 2022, Burlison chose to forgo reelection and run for the 7th Congressional District seat. He easily won the GOP primary, which was tantamount to election in the heavily Republican district.

Since taking office, Burlison has served on the House Oversight, Transportation, and Education and Workforce committees.