SEDALIA • Top state leaders brewed up a mix of agriculture and politics Thursday at the Missouri State Fair.
With two statewide races on the ballot next year, as well as a looming vote to pick the next speaker of the Missouri House, the annual Governor’s Ham Breakfast became the brief .
Facing what could be a tough re-election bid, Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill made an appearance before the 800-strong crowd at the breakfast. Attorney General Josh Hawley, who has , said he would not discuss his potential bid.
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“I have no update,†said Hawley, who later shook hands and chatted with McCaskill at the event. “I don’t have anything new on the Senate race.â€
Hawley, a political newcomer who last year vowed not to use his seat as a springboard to another office, has been heavily recruited by top Republicans to challenge McCaskill, who is considered vulnerable after President Donald Trump carried the state by 19 points.
McCaskill said she has not been thinking about having Hawley as an opponent.
“I’m doing town halls, and I do them every year,†McCaskill said. “My job is to stay focused on bringing the people on the opposite ends of the room, yelling at each other, into the middle and find some common ground and compromise.â€
Austin Petersen, of Kansas City, who ran for president as a Libertarian in 2016, also is running for the GOP nomination. He said the presence of Hawley in the race was not daunting.
“I always believe in healthy competition. I’ll be there to offer a counterpoint to Missouri voters,†Petersen said.
U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt faced questions about Trump’s response to the deadly protests in Charlottesville, Va. He did not directly criticize the president, but he said there is no moral equivalency between the two sides who clashed in Virginia.
“These groups like the neo-Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan, the white supremacists have the least acceptable view of the world you could possibly have. I think when the president condemned those groups specifically that was the right place for him to be and the right place for the country to be,†Blunt said. “This is not the kind of ideology that we want to embrace or encourage in any way.â€
At the breakfast, Gov. Eric Greitens focused primarily on the agricultural aspects of the fair, but he took time to crow about his November 2016 win and what he thinks it has meant for the state.
“Rural Missouri is on the march,†the governor said. “We’re taking Missouri in a new direction. Strong conservatives in office are making a difference.â€
The other statewide race on the ballot will feature Auditor Nicole Galloway, a Democrat, seeking her first full term after being appointed to the post by former Gov. Jay Nixon.
She is expected to be opposed by House Speaker Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff.
Richardson had little to say about his potential candidacy.
“We’re still taking a hard look at the race and also (are) still focused on the legislative duties we’ve got,†Richardson said.
Galloway said the fair offers her a way to meet with voters.
“I’m focused on my job as state auditor. The auditor is the only independent watchdog that stands on the side of taxpayers and doesn’t stand on the side of politicians in Jefferson City,†Galloway said.
The three-way race to replace Richardson will be resolved in September by members of the House Republican caucus.
Reps. Elijah Haahr of Springfield, Holly Rehder of Sikeston and Robert Cornejo of St. Peters are vying for the top leadership post in the Legislature’s lower chamber.
All said they had spent the summer traveling the state to convince their colleagues that they are the best candidate.
“I’m a business owner. I am not an attorney,†Rehder said.
“I’m pretty consistent. I’m cool, calm and level-headed,†Cornejo said.
Haahr touted his role as the No. 2 person in House leadership.
“It gives me a unique perspective,†Haahr said.
Greitens said he is not involved in the speaker’s race, and Richardson said he’s not taking sides.
“I think the caucus is blessed with good choices,†Richardson said.
Editor's note: Rep. Holly Rehder is from Sikeston. Earlier versions of this story gave an incorrect hometown.