Missouri state Sen.-elect Kurtis Gregory won his race in November with 69% of the vote.
However, the Republican primary in August was a lot closer.
Gregory ran against fellow Republican Rep. Doug Richey, for the Senate seat. One of the differences between the two is that Richey is a member of the conservative Missouri Freedom Caucus, while Gregory is not.
“That definitely lost me some support with people, because that's the path they want to go down,” Gregory said.
But he also said he believes that gained him some voters as well.
“I would be knocking on doors of people that told me they voted Republican their entire life, and they were not going to vote Republican anymore because of some of those antics,” Gregory said.
Gregory ultimately won the primary with 56.6% of the vote.
The Missouri Freedom Caucus and the now-defunct Conservative Caucus before it have clashed with Republican leadership in past sessions. At times contention between members and non-members led to early adjournments and policy goals remaining unfinished.
Gregory, who was not a member of the caucus when he was in the House, said he will not be a member in the Senate either, but not because he disagrees on policy.
“I agree with a lot of virtually everything they've tried getting done, like, you look at the ‘24 session and there's [initiative] petition reform. I voted for that every time,” Gregory said. “I just probably didn't agree with the tactics they were using to try and get that brought to the forefront.”
Gregory was the latest guest on the Politically Speaking podcast. Here’s what else he talked about on the show:
- His background, including his decision to become involved in politics.
- Missouri’s name, image and likeness legislation for college athletes in the state. Gregory played football for the University of Missouri in 2006-09.
- The state’s film tax credit program, which was sponsored by Gregory.
- His decision to run for the Senate as opposed to staying in the House.
- What the state can do regarding public safety in rural areas.
- How the Republican-led legislature may respond to Missourians passing Amendment 3 in November, which overturned the state’s near-total abortion ban.
When not in Jefferson City, Gregory works on his farm. The Blackburn Republican graduated with a bachelor’s in agricultural management and a master’s in agriculture.
