Candidate Name: Dave Gragg
What office are you running for?
130th District, Missouri House of Representatives
With which party are you running for office?
Democratic Party
Election Date
Nov. 3, 2020 — I won’t be opposed in the August primary
Why are you running for office?
Republicans are abusing the power Missouri voters have given them. It’s time to take away their supermajority.
What is the biggest issue facing your community and how do you propose helping?
There are a whole lot of things that should be easy to pass, but passing them would hurt Republicans politically/help Democrats politically, therefore Republicans are fighting them as hard as they can: Medicaid expansion, a prescription drug monitoring program, funding education, common sense gun reform. That’s not how we should be looking at things. We should do what’s best for our state and worry about the political ramifications later.
How do we fix the partisan divide in our country and start working together again?
Everyone’s life would be a lot easier if I could answer that, wouldn’t it?
Who is your hero?
Abe Lincoln, John McCain, Claire McCaskill
What is the most recent book you read?
This question makes me look good right now because I started reading more history when I was deciding whether to run, so right now I’m reading 1776 by David McCollough. On a different week the answer could easily have been a sci fi/fantasy book. Two weeks ago it was Fall of Dragons by Miles Cameron.
Do you have any kids/pets/talking houseplants?
Three sons
How can our readers get involved in your campaign?
Donations, obviously. Helping spread my social media influence; If you know someone in western Greene County, Mo., send them my way, even if (especially if) they’re Republican. I’m not going to win by just appealing to Democrats in Southwest Missouri.
What question do you wish we’d asked, and what is your answer?
How long have you been politically active?
I have been a proud independent for most of my life, although I started leaning toward the Democratic party as the Republicans started getting more and more concerned with their power and less concerned with actually making government work. In 2016 I decided I couldn’t sit back and watch any more, I had to get involved somehow. I started volunteering for the Democratic candidate for the same seat I’m running for in the 2018 race. He lost, but when he decided he didn’t want to run again, I told him I would.
Candidate Social Media:
Facebook
Post created from answers submitted by candidate to our Meet the Candidate survey.
