Missouri secretary of state who covertly spoke at far-right election confab seeking governorship

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, who is the son of former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, on Thursday launched his long anticipated 2024 campaign for governor by declaring that his fellow Republicans have “failed to deliver” the ultra-conservative agenda he craves. Ashcroft, as we’ll discuss, has made a name for himself by winking at the Big Lie and threatening to block funding from libraries that stock what he calls “inappropriate materials in any form that appeal to the prurient interest of a minor.”

Ashcroft will compete in the primary against Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, who launched his bid to succeed termed-out Gov. Mike Parson all the way back in March of 2021, while state Sen. Bill Eigel also formed an exploratory committee last year. A February poll from the GOP firm Remington Research Group for the political tip-sheet Missouri Scout showed Ashcroft beating Kehoe 28-9 as Eigel languished at 4%, though we haven’t seen any numbers since then. No notable Democrats have entered the race to lead a state that’s shifted hard to the right in the last decade-and-a-half, though state House Minority Leader Crystal Quade said Thursday she was “absolutely” considering.