JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri Democrats on Tuesday rejected the candidate filing fee for state Rep. Sarah Unsicker of Shrewsbury, who has said she is running for governor this year.
The action occurred as candidates began to stream into the secretary of state’s office for the beginning of candidate filing for the Aug. 6 primary on Tuesday.
Unsicker, a Democrat first elected in 2016, was stripped of her committee posts and booted from the House Democratic Caucus amid controversy over social media posts and her association with a conspiracy theorist and an alleged Holocaust denier.
Matthew Patterson, executive director for the Missouri Democratic Party, said he gave Unsicker a letter from a law firm when she tried to file Tuesday morning.
“Based on your public statements, it was anticipated that you may attempt to run for office as a Democrat. We have prepared this statement to inform you the Missouri Democratic Party will not accept your filing fee as a Democrat in our primary,†the letter said.
“Having been removed from the House Democratic Caucus by your peers, the Missouri Democratic Party does not wish to associate with you as a candidate,†the Tuesday letter, from attorney James P. Faul, said.
Unsicker did not respond to a request for comment.
If she decided to run as an independent, she would face a July 29 deadline to submit 10,000 voter signatures.
This isn’t the first time the state Democrats have blocked someone from running under their party banner.
The Democrats in 2018 blocked former state Rep. Courtney Curtis, D-Ferguson, who had an outstanding fine with the Missouri Ethics Commission, from running for state Senate. State courts affirmed the Democrats’ decision.
House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, was able to file for governor as a Democrat on Tuesday.
Eric Morrison of Lee’s Summit and Sheryl Gladney of St. Charles also filed to run as Democrats for governor.
Quade booted Unsicker from committees last year, and Unsicker then said she was running for governor, ditching a previous bid for attorney general.
Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and state Sen. Bill Eigel of Weldon Spring are seeking the Republican nomination for governor.
Five other Republicans filed for governor: Darrell Leon McClanahan III, of Milo; Robert James Olson of Springfield; Jeremy Gundel of Washburn; Chris Wright of Joplin; and Darren Grant of Maryland Heights.
The Republican Party said a candidate's affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan "fundamentally contradicts our party’s values and platform."
Rep. Sarah Unsicker stands on the floor of the House before the start of proceedings at the Capitol in Jefferson City during the start of 2024 Missouri legislative session on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024.Â