State Rep.-elect Mary Elizabeth Coleman joins Politically Speaking to talk about her big win in Missouri’s 97th District House seat — and her expectations about the upcoming legislative session.
Coleman is a Republican from Arnold who defeated Democratic state Rep. Mike Revis in this month’s election. She will represent parts of St. Louis and Jefferson counties when lawmakers return for the 2019 session in January.
Coleman is an attorney who previously served on the Arnold City Council. She was one of three Republicans who signed up to challenge Revis, who took over a seat that Republicans had controlled for roughly eight years.
Ultimately, Coleman ended up besting Revis by around 1,800 votes. Her win guaranteed that every single state legislative seat that covers Jefferson County will be represented by a Republican. Jefferson County residents have historically preferred Democratic candidates.
Here’s what Coleman had to say during the show:
- She attributes her big win this month to lots of hard work — and President Donald Trump’s popularity throughout her district. U.S. Sen.-elect Josh Hawley, who placed a big emphasis on supporting Trump’s presidency, won in Jefferson County by a wide margin.
- She said that Democrats will likely not succeed in Jefferson County as long as the national party is perceived as too liberal. “And in my district we are socially conservative. Pro-life. Pro-Second Amendment. And pro-union,” Coleman said. “And so people who have traditionally been Democrats find the national platform really hard to identify with.”
- When she’s sworn into office in early January, Coleman said, among other things, she wants to assist in crafting legislation overhauling lawsuit regulations and providing more money for transportation infrastructure.
- Coleman said her first legislative priority will be to change state laws that she says unfairly target young girls. “Girls who are underage can be prosecuted for prostitution before the age of consent. They can also be prosecuted for truancy. Girls who have been caught up in sex trafficking or the sex industry. So I’m going to be working to change those laws.”
- Coleman said she voted for Proposition A, which would have sustained a law requiring workers and employers to pay dues as a condition of employment. But she said doesn’t plan to support any effort to resurrect ‘right to work.’ “I’m not going to vote against my district,” she said. “I don’t think it’s a conservative value to say ‘you guys by 78 percent rejected doing the same thing.’”
Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum
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Follow Mary Elizabeth Coleman: @meaccoleman
Music: “Counting Blue Cars” by Dishwalla
