Democrat John Kiehne is the latest guest on Politically Speaking, where he talked with St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Sarah Kellogg about his bid for the 26th Senate District.
Kiehne is seeking to represent a district that includes a small part of St. Louis County and all of Franklin, Osage, Gasconade and Warren counties. He ran in 2018, losing decisively to Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz. Republican Ben Brown won the GOP contest to succeed Schatz, who cannot run for reelection because of term limits.
You can listen to Brown’s episode of Politically Speaking by clicking here.
Here’s what Kiehne talked about on the show:
- Why he decided to start running for office as a Democrat. Kiehne encountered a number of issues as a foster parent and through the health care system that made him more conscious of state politics.
- Why it’s important for Democrats to run in places like the 26th Senate District, which is historically a Republican stronghold. “We have to invest time, energy, money year after year, cycle after cycle,” he said. “There is no off day. There’s no Sunday. There’s no Friday night for what the Democratic Party needs to do.”
- His opposition to the recently enacted trigger law that banned most abortions in the state. He said he’s in favor of comprehensive sex education and greater availability of contraception.
- His misgivings about an upcoming special session to cut Missouri’s income taxes. Kiehne contended that the move is shortsighted since the state’s budget largesse is largely due to an influx of federal money.
Kiehne is a professional musician by trade who is originally from St. Charles County. In addition to running for the state Senate in 2018, Kiehne ran unsuccessfully for state representative in 2020 — losing to state Rep. Dottie Bailey.
Brown and Kiehne have crossed paths before, but not in the political arena. Kiehne has performed at Satcho’s Bar and Grill, a restaurant in Chesterfield that Brown owns.
Follow Jason Rosenbaum on Twitter: @jrosenbaum
Follow Sarah Kellogg on Twitter: @sarahkkellogg
Follow John Kiehne on Twitter: @JohnKiehneForMo
