Republican candidate for state governor stops in St. Joseph ahead of primary
By Jenna Wilson
Republican state Sen. Bill Eigel made a stop at Rosecrans Memorial Airport on Monday morning as part of a fly-around tour across the state of Missouri ahead of the primary election.
After a stop in Columbia, Eigel made his second stop of the morning in St. Joseph as he seeks to win the Republican nomination to replace Gov. Mike Parson who is not seeking reelection due to term limits.
In one of the tightest GOP gubernatorial primaries, candidate Eigel, R-St. Charles County, is highlighting why he’s best suited for the position of governor.
“I’ve made a commitment that we’re going to detain and deport every one of the more than 70,000 illegal immigrants that are in the state,” Eigel said. “In addition to that, I think the biggest economic issue that a lot of folks are talking about is my commitment to eliminate personal property tax. Under an ideal administration, you’re going to be able to actually own your car.”
While Eigel shares some similarities with his opposing candidates, he said that he’s the only true conservative in the race, saying that Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe is a liberal and Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, another major opponent, is a moderate.
Eigel discussed factors he sees wrong with Kehoe being elected governor, including his vote in 2013 to sell U.S. land to China and other foreign countries. He also said that Ashcroft’s inability to support veteran benefits and creating election interference in Missouri makes him unfit.
“When you have Bill Gates backing Mike Kehoe and Mark Zuckerberg backing Jay Ashcroft, I really can contrast pretty easily as the only proven conservative in this race,” Eigel said. “I think that’s why we’re surging in the polls and that’s why we’re going to be very successful tomorrow on Aug. 6.”
While the candidates are each promoting vastly different platforms, they are all campaigning on similar talking points, which include lowering taxes and beefing up border security.
Eigel will end his day of campaigning in Cape Girardeau before making his way back to St. Charles. He hopes to see support at the polls on Tuesday.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do, but tomorrow’s a big day,” Eigel said. “So, everybody out there in Missouri get some rest tonight. Let’s go out and celebrate democracy tomorrow and let’s get a win.”
