Former leader of abortion-rights effort runs for Missouri secretary of state as Republican

By My Courier-Tribune

JEFFERSON CITY — A former GOP congressional staffer who launched an ill-fated campaign to overturn Missouri’s near-total abortion ban filed Monday to run for secretary of state.

Jamie Corley, 37, of University City, joined a field of four other Republican candidates seeking to become the state’s next chief elections officer. The surprise announcement came on the penultimate day of candidate filing for the Aug. 6 primary.

Corley had led a “moderate” initiative petition effort to overturn Missouri’s near-total abortion ban — one that would’ve been more limited than a competing campaign that is still collecting signatures for the ballot this year.

Corley ended that effort in February after the competing effort, Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, announced it was moving forward with a signature-gathering campaign.

She said Monday there was “more to me than just my abortion work” and said after Senate President Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, said last week he wouldn’t run, “I became interested in who was running,” and “it became pretty obvious to me that there’s a lane for a Republican like me.”

Corley said she is conservative and that “I’m a workhorse, not a showhorse. So I want to spend more time doing the work that the job requires than … getting a viral tweet.”

Corley’s candidacy could offer a contrast with someone like Valentina Gomez, one of the five Republicans running for secretary of state, who generated national headlines after she burned books in a viral video.

Corley said Monday she had worked as national press secretary for former Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, and worked as communications director for Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia.

Republicans who have already filed include Gomez, of St. Louis; Greene County Clerk Shane Schoeller of Willard; state Sen. Denny Hoskins of Warrensburg; and state Rep. Adam Schwadron of St. Charles.

House Speaker Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres, was said to be considering ditching his lieutenant governor bid to switch to the secretary of state race.

State Rep. Barbara Phifer, D-Kirkwood, Monique Williams of St. Louis, and Haley Jacobson of St. Louis, are the three Democrats running. Jacobson also filed Monday.

Carl Herman Freese of Foristell is running as a Libertarian.

Missouri’s open-primary system allows any registered voter to participate in the GOP primary on Aug. 6.

Also Monday, businessman Michael Hamra filed to run as a Democrat for governor, making his challenge to House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, and three other Democrats official. Hamra had said last year he would run for governor.

Another candidate to file for statewide office on Monday included Democrat Mita Biswas of St. Louis, who joined Lucas Kunce, December Harmon and state Sen. Karla May in the Democratic primary for Senate.

Amber Thomsen of Hollister became the ninth Republican to run for governor. Better-known candidates include Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and state Sen. Bill Eigel. The state Republican Party has filed a lawsuit to remove another gubernatorial candidate with ties to the Ku Klux Klan, Darrell McClanahan, from the ballot.

Ken Iverson of Lake Saint Louis filed to run for lieutenant governor as a Libertarian.

John A. Hartwig Jr., filed to run for state treasurer as a Libertarian. He ran for state auditor two years ago. No Democrats had filed for treasurer as of Monday afternoon.