State Rep. Hannah Kelly is the latest guest on the Politically Speaking podcast. The Mountain Grove Republican talked to St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Julie O’Donoghue about some of the important issues for her rural Missouri district.
Kelly represents portions of Wright and Webster counties. She has served in the Missouri House since 2017.
Here’s what Kelly talked about on the show:
- She discussed her decision to run for public office in 2016, continuing her family legacy of serving in the Missouri General Assembly. Both her uncle and grandfather served in the House.
- Kelly talked about the ongoing problems of feral hogs, which are threatening to destroy farmland and other properties in rural Missouri. She addressed the question of whether hunters should be allowed to shoot hogs on Department of Conservation property.
- Kelly gave her take on the passage of legislation barring counties from applying stringent ordinances against large farms. Several counties are suing to prevent that measure from going into effect.
- She talked about her support of a law that would ban most abortions after eight weeks of pregnancy — and how some of her constituents are reacting to her vote.
The 31-year-old Kelly has been a real estate agent since she was 18. After initially resisting calls to run for office, Kelly ended up seeking the GOP nomination for the 141st District House seat in 2016 — which was vacant after Tony Dugger was forced to leave due to term limits.
Kelly ended up defeating Stan Coday in the Republican primary by 46 votes, which was tantamount to election in a district that’s been in Republican hands for generations. She hasn’t faced a general election opponent in either of her two elections to the House.
A member of the House Budget Committee, Kelly is the chairwoman of an appropriations subcommittee that oversees agriculture, natural resources and conservation spending. The legislature does not have any control over how the Department of Conservation spends money, since a dedicated sales tax funds that agency.
The podcast is sponsored by the St. Louis-based law firm of Capes Sokol.
Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum
Follow Julie O’Donoghue on Twitter: @jsodonoghue
Follow Hannah Kelly on Twitter: @HannahKellyMo
Music: “Disorder” by Joy Division
