Democrat Bethany Mann has a tough task running for Congress in Missouri’s 3rd District, which was drawn in 2022 to be favorable to Republicans.
But during an episode of the Politically Speaking podcast, Mann said she’s been able to make inroads with voters who typically don’t vote for Democrats by listening to their concerns.
“And that's why I think that running in what would normally be an uncontested seat is so important,” Mann said. “Because it allows you to have those conversations with folks, to show that you're just not a talking figure in a suit. You're actually going to talk to them about the issues that matter the most to their family.”
Mann’s opponent is Republican Bob Onder, a former member of the Missouri House and Senate. Onder was a guest on Politically Speaking earlier this week.
The 3rd District encompasses portions of the St. Louis metro area, including parts of Jefferson and St. Charles counties. It also features a lot of terrain in mid-Missouri, such as Boone, Callaway and Cole counties.
Mann is a scientist who ran against U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer in 2022, getting about 34% of the vote. She said she did better than a lot of Republicans expected, given the GOP tilt of the district.
While she said that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is still popular in many areas of the 3rd District, Mann said she’s able to break through when talking to those voters about issues like rising electric rates and bolstering the state’s infrastructure.
“It's not commonplace to hear Democrats talking about those kitchen table issues, and that's created an opportunity for populism that focuses on discontent and division to really breed and fester,” Mann said.
Against Trump tariffs
One of the key platform planks for Trump is his support for tariffs. And in the U.S. Senate race, Republican Josh Hawley and Democrat Lucas Kunce have both backed placing more aggressive tariffs against China.
But Mann said she has serious doubts that bolstered tariffs will affect China.
“It's not going to impact them,” Mann said. “When we slap a tariff on something that's imported, what the corporation is going to do is turn around and just charge the American consumer enough so that they are making up their profit margins for that particular piece.”
Mann also isn’t a fan of a proposal to remove taxes on tips, something that both Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris have embraced. She said it could provoke higher-income employees to ask for payment for a service in the form of a tip, which in turn could allow people who are lawyers or accountants to evade taxes.
“The design of the plan is to dupe working-class Americans,” Mann said.
With tax cuts that Trump helped establish in 2017 set to expire next year, Mann would like to see the federal tax system restructured. Instead of placing an onus on small businesses or middle class taxpayers, Mann said she would like to see more taxation responsibility on corporations.
“I'm talking about corporations that are in excess of $100 million, so it's not going to impact small to medium-sized business owners here domestically,” Mann said.
Support for Amendment 3
Onder and Mann are on opposite sides of Amendment 3, which would legalize abortion in the state up to fetal viability.
Onder is strongly opposed to Amendment 3 and is helping rally voters with moral objections to abortion to vote the measure down. Mann is a strong supporter of the ballot item that would repeal Missouri’s near-total ban on the procedure.
“The right to bodily autonomy and access to health care are human rights issues, and these are non-negotiable terms,” Mann said. “We don't need to ask the state legislators permission.”
While Mann said she understand why some 3rd District voters may have religious or moral objections to abortion, that doesn’t mean it should be illegal — including in the case of rape and incest.
“I grew up in the pro-life movement. My mom worked at crisis pregnancy centers. I know all the talking points. I also understand folks who do have that deep respect and regard for life, and I don't think that this is in conflict with it,” Mann said. “I think that providing people medical care and the freedom to make their own choices is aligned with biblical values, if that's where they're coming from. And that health care access saves lives.”
