Government, Politics & Issues

Politically Speaking: Missouri GOP chairman Graves on next week’s election

St. Louis Public Radio | By Jason Rosenbaum,

Published October 30, 2018 at 2:45 PM CDT

Missouri Republican Party Chairman Todd Graves joins St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies on the latest edition of Politically Speaking.

Both Graves and Missouri Democratic Party Chairman Stephen Webber taped podcasts giving their perspective on next week’s election, which will have a major impact on the state’s future political trajectory.

Graves is a partner at the Graves Garrett law firm in Kansas City. He became chairman of the Missouri Republican Party after the 2016 election cycle.

A native of Tarkio, Missouri, Graves became involved in Missouri Republican politics in the 1980s. His brother, Sam Graves, has served as a state representative, state senator and now congressman. Todd Graves was elected as Platte County prosecutor in 1998 and unsuccessfully ran for state treasurer in 2000.

President George W. Bush tapped Graves in 2001 to serve as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri. He served in that post until the end of 2006. After that, Graves went into private practice.

Here’s what Graves had to say during the show:

The Missouri Republican Party is taking part in an unprecedented “turnout and door-to-door effort.” “We’ve knocked over a million doors. I mean, literally,” he said. “We’re laser-focused on the suburban areas. I think our candidates have been laser-focused.”
The Republican National Committee has set up about 50 offices around the state, which Graves said is “unheard of” — even in a presidential election year. “Two years ago, we didn’t have that kind of effort,” he said.
He said that the GOP was able to bridge an “enthusiasm gap” after Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings. “I don’t think anyone can dispute that has propelled our base,” he said. “And that’s taken us to an enthusiasm level that we wouldn’t have had otherwise.”
If GOP state auditor nominee Saundra McDowell were to defeat incumbent Nicole Galloway, it would showcase that money may not actually be that important to winning statewide elections. McDowell has raised about $80,000 for her campaign thus far. Galloway has raised about $2.1 million.
As for the state legislature, Graves said his goal is to maintain a GOP supermajority in the House and Senate.