Missouri Democratic Insider- March 12, 2024

Missouri Democratic Insider March 12, 2024

ICYMI: Biden Spit Fire During SOTU Speech

In his State of the Union address, President Biden spoke directly to the American people about the historic progress his Administration has made. He demonstrated the clear contrast between competing visions for the country and competing forces in the battle for the soul of our nation. Between the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and the Inflation Reduction Act, President Biden’s Administration has invested over $2.8 BILLION in Missouri communities across the state.
Senator Josh Hawley, Congressmen Jason Smith, Sam Graves, and Ann Wagner voted against this critical infrastructure funding that will be used to rebuild Missouri’s roads and bridges, expand broadband access, and modernize our energy infrastructure.
You can see the projects funded by these bills by county and project category here.
Projects Funded by Biden Admin by County

MDP Announces Polling Locations for Party-Run Presidential Primary on March 23, 2024

Find a Polling Location

After Republicans in the state legislature eliminated Missouri’s state-run presidential primary, the Missouri Democratic Party worked to design the best party-run process possible given the barriers of the new law and are ready to announce the locations that will serve as in-person voting sites for the Party-run presidential primary election scheduled on Saturday, March 23, 2024.“Keeping Black and Brown communities from exercising their right to vote has been the strategy of those in power since Reconstruction, and the elimination of the state-run presidential primary election is one of the many tactics used by this extreme Republican Party to disenfranchise voters across the state. Missourians have watched the Republicans in the legislature come after our fundamental rights and personal freedoms session after session, and this move was no different. The goal was to suppress voter participation and not one Democrat voted for the bill that made this change. We hope the Republican supermajority will consider voters’ dissatisfaction across the state and address this,” said Senator Karla May (D-St. Louis).“I grew up on a cotton farm in the Bootheel, I am all too familiar with the barriers rural communities face due to Republicans making one bad decision after another. Barriers to accessing basic services like having a hospital that is still open, high-speed broadband, and rural roads that are well maintained. And now, they are making it much harder for Missourians in rural areas to vote. Here’s the reality: Republicans who run our government made rural Missouri’s ability to vote and to have their voices heard much, much harder, and that was intentional. This dysfunctional Republican Party is determined to take away Missourians’ voices and they have no intention of stopping until they have restricted every Missourian’s ability to question and overrule their complete stranglehold on power. That power belongs to the people,” said State Senator Greg Razer (D-KC).

Background: In 2022, the Republican-controlled legislature passed HB 1878, which eliminated Missouri’s state-run presidential preference primary election and designated a party-run system for choosing presidential nominees. This is another attack on free and fair Democratic elections that makes it harder for people to exercise their voting rights. The Missouri Democratic Party adamantly opposed this change, and none of the Democrats serving in the Missouri State House or Senate at the time voted for this bill. 120 Republican members supported the measure. Senator Karla May has represented the 4th Senatorial District, covering parts of St. Louis City & County since 2019, and formerly served as the vice chair of the Missouri General Assembly’s Black Legislative Caucus. Senator May served as the Region XI chair for the National Black Caucus of State Legislators from 2012-2018, serving Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska, formerly serving on the Executive Committee as chaplain and currently serving as an at-large member.
You can learn more about Senator May here.

Senator Razer serves State Senate District 7 near Kansas City covering a portion of Jackson County. Razer is the grandson of a farmer, the son of a public school teacher, and a graduate of the University of Missouri. Senator Razer was raised on a cotton farm in the Missouri Bootheel, one of the most impoverished parts of our state. Senator Razer was elected to the State Senate in 2020.
You can learn more about Senator Razer here.

GET INVOLVED

Want to Run for Office?

Candidate filing period is officially open and Missouri Democrats still need candidates in several key districts and across the state. If you or someone you know is interested in running for state house or just wants to know more about what running would be like, fill out this form to get more information or to sign up to run.

SIGN UP TO RUN FOR OFFICE

Become a Member of the Missouri Democratic Party

Putting an end to far-right extremists and electing more Democrats in Missouri depends on the Missouri Democratic Party and supporters like you.

That means investing in our Party, building our county parties, fostering relationships with community organizations, supporting our legislators in Jefferson City as they fight for us during the 2024 Legislative Session, and providing candidates with training and resources. That work starts now.

Party Dues:

Individual: $35

Students/Senior Citizens (65+) $25

Family: $40

State Committee: $200

State Representative: $200

State Senate: $350

Executive Committee: $500

DNC Member: $500

Statewide Elected Officials: $2,000

U.S. House: $5,000

U.S. Senate: $7,500

Become a Member

Volunteer to Put Abortion on the Ballot w/MDP

The Missouri Democratic Party is gearing up to support our democratic priorities this year and will be collecting signatures to restore abortion rights. You can sign up to volunteer for this effort here:

SIGN UP HERE

Ballot Request Period for MDP’s Party-Run Presidential Primary CLOSING MARCH 12

REQUEST YOUR BALLOT HERE

We have gotten many calls about the mail ballots that were automatically mailed to over 27,000 registered Democrats. They are legit! Merriman River Group is MDP’s trusted vendor handling our ballots, they look like this