JEFFERSON CITY — As a third Republican candidate prepares to formally enter the race for governor, Missouri’s current chief executive said he likely will endorse a different candidate.
Sen. Bill Eigel, a Weldon Spring Republican, is set to join the 2024 GOP race to replace term-limited Gov. Mike Parson on Friday.
But Parson signaled Wednesday that he likely would be backing Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe in the contest, partly out of loyalty to the man he appointed to succeed him following the resignation of scandal-plagued Gov. Eric Greitens in 2018.
“I haven’t endorsed any candidates but that time will come,†Parson told reporters following an event in his Capitol office.
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As governor, Parson said his appointment of Kehoe as the No. 2 statewide officeholder is a key to the equation.
“I’ve literally asked people to change their lives … to help me in a time we needed help,†Parson said.
“They answered the call when I asked for help and I want to make sure I help them at some point to make sure that I do what I can to help them because they helped me. I believe in loyalty to people,†Parson said. “That’s just kind of the way I roll.â€
The possibility of the sitting governor backing Kehoe comes as another candidate, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, already enjoys wide name recognition as the son of a former governor, U.S. senator and attorney general John Ashcroft.
It leaves Eigel seeking an primary election path to the right of each of the candidates.
Eigel’s Friday announcement comes after a year of traveling the state to gauge support and raise money for a statewide bid.
“I’ve spent the last year beating the bushes, and the answer to my search couldn’t be more clear: Missourians are tired of sending uniparty Republicans to Jefferson City that hold Missouri back from the big conservative wins that all of us are desperate for,†Eigel said in a statement announcing his plans.
The formal kick-off is at the St. Charles County Regional Airport at 5:30 p.m. Friday.
“It’s time to send a bold, conservative reformer who will be a champion for the people of this great state and bring a reckoning to the Jefferson City Swamp,†Eigel said.
Eigel enters the fray after some special interest groups have already placed their bets and their money on his opponents.
Ashcroft, for example, has nailed down an endorsement from anti-abortion group Missouri Right to Life.
Kehoe has snagged backing from major agriculture groups and firefighters. The former Ford dealership owner also has seen major campaign contributions from car dealers.
Eigel has represented the 23rd Senate District since 2017. He owns a skylight installation company and served in the Air Force for eight years, attaining the rank of captain.
Democrat Crystal Quade, the minority leader in the Missouri House, is seeking her party’s nomination next August.