Missouri Democratic attorney general nominee Rich Finneran is the latest guest on Politically Speaking. He joined St. Louis Public Radio’s Rachel Lippmann and Jason Rosenbaum to discuss his campaign against Republican incumbent Eric Schmitt.
Finneran defeated Elad Gross in the August Democratic primary for attorney general. He and Schmitt will square off in the Nov. 3 general election. Schmitt has been invited to record an episode of Politically Speaking in the coming days.
Here’s what Finneran discussed on the show:
- Schmitt’s decision to remain in a lawsuit aimed at the Affordable Care Act, which Finneran has made a major element of his campaign. He talked about why he believes the issue has added resonance with the death of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
- Democratic gubernatorial nominee Nicole Galloway’s proposal to ensure that insurance companies can’t discriminate against people with preexisting conditions. That’s seen as a backstop of sorts in case the ACA is declared unconstitutional.
- His opinion about an effort to allow the attorney general to intervene in St. Louis homicide cases. Schmitt endorsed that proposal, which did not pass in the now-concluded legislative special session on violent crime.
- Schmitt’s partnerships with the state’s two U.S. attorneys as a means to tamp down violent crime, as well as a bid to remove St. Louis’ residency requirement for police officers.
Finneran is a University City resident who most recently worked for the Bryan Cave law firm. Before that, he served as an assistant U.S. attorney during most of Richard Callahan’s tenure as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri.
Finneran grew up in St. Louis County and got his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina. He received his law degree from Washington University.
Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum
Follow Rachel Lippmann on Twitter: @rlippmann
Follow Rich Finneran on Twitter: @RichFinneran
Music: “First” by Cold War Kids
