U.S. President: Democrat Kamala Harris. The current vice president offers constructive policy proposals that include expanded child tax credits, help for first-time home buyers, tax fairness that shifts the burden away from middle-class citizens toward the very wealthy and foreign policy that stands with NATO, Ukraine and Israel — the latter with an emphasis on ending the fighting in Gaza.
Former President Donald Trump promises price-inflating tariffs, more tax cuts for the rich, the abandonment of Ukraine and the undermining of NATO. His vow to round up and deport some 11 million migrants will risk a massive humanitarian crisis while devastating whole sectors of the national economy. His instinctive cruelty, his admiration of authoritarians and his thirst for vengeance against his critics makes a vote for Trump not merely unwise, but dangerous.
People are also reading…
U.S. Senate from Missouri: Democrat Lucas Kunce. From a modest working-class upbringing in Jefferson City, Kunce rose to become an accomplished attorney and a U.S. Marine with tours in Iraq and Afghanistan as part of the Marine Corps’ Judge Advocate division. He offers an agenda of support for universal health care reform (including reasonable protection of reproductive rights), rational firearms policies like red-flag laws and other common-sense positions.
Incumbent Republican Sen. Josh Hawley is a national embarrassment whose central role in the outrage of Jan. 6, 2021, is in itself overwhelming justification to remove him from office — but not the only justification. Hawley’s fake populism has him claiming to support labor rights, universal health care and other goals that he has in fact worked against through most of his career. His incessant showboating on the Senate floor belies a term of virtually zero constructive accomplishments.
Missouri governor: Democrat Crystal Quade. As minority leader in a Republican-supermajority House, Quade has demonstrated the ability to work with the other side of the aisle on constructive goals like child-care tax credits and dropping the state’s grocery sales tax. She is a strong supporter of reproductive rights, tax fairness, small businesses and education. Her background as a rural working mom is one that regular Missourians of any party should be able to connect with.
Republican nominee Mike Kehoe, currently lieutenant governor, used to be among the responsible grownups in the state GOP; after Jan. 6, 2021, he even advised his party to accept the election results and “move forward.†His campaign’s more recent refusal to acknowledge President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory is disappointing confirmation that Kehoe has now capitulated to the MAGA movement.
Missouri attorney general: Democrat Elad Gross. A former assistant attorney general, Gross has carved out a niche as a tireless defender of public access to governmental information and has vowed to focus on consumer fraud, environmental enforcement and political corruption as attorney general. He would restore this derailed office to its urgent function of representing the legal interests of all Missourians — not just those who share the office-holder’s ideology.
Republican incumbent Andrew Bailey, appointed to the office last year to fill a vacancy, has abused and politicized his power to an unprecedented and astonishing extent, inserting the taxpayers into one dead-end culture-war skirmish after another while refusing to carry out his actual duties.
We encourage readers to consider the full scope of Bailey’s bad-faith execution of this important office as outlined in our comprehensive “Bailey Tally,†which was published in its entirety in Thursday’s Post-Dispatch and is on the STLToday.com opinion page.
Missouri secretary of state: Democrat Barbara Phifer. A state representative and retired United Methodist minister, Phifer promises to bring nonpartisan professionalism to the office of the state’s top election official. Republican nominee Denny Hoskins, a state senator, promises chaos with a MAGA-driven plan to hand-count all 3 million state ballots — an unrealistic and counterproductive solution in search of a problem.
Missouri Amendment 2, Legalizing sports betting: Yes. There’s significant potential money on the table for education that neighboring states are scooping up.
Missouri Amendment 3, Restoring reproductive rights: Yes. The most important ballot issue this year would restore reasonable abortion rights as they stood under Roe v. Wade. Don’t believe the opposition’s campaign of lies that claims it will somehow usher in transgender care for minors; that’s pure fabrication.
Missouri Amendment 5, Lake of the Ozarks casino license: Yes. Like it or not (and there are valid reasons not to), casino gaming is legal in Missouri. As such, there’s no reason not to allow it in one of the state’s premier recreational regions.
Missouri Amendment 6, Court fees for sheriffs’ retirement fund: No. Taxpayers should fund law enforcement pensions; putting it on criminal defendants invites abuse by the justice system.
Missouri Amendment 7, Banning voting by undocumented migrants and prohibiting ranked-choice voting:Ìý±·´Ç. It is already illegal for undocumented migrants to vote (and it virtually never happens); that provision of Amendment 7 is nothing but "ballot candy," designed to appeal to xenophobia so voters will approve the second portion, cutting off their own future voting options at the behest of entrenched partisans who want to keep it that way. (The amendment would not affect St. Louis city's current nonpartisan city election process.)
Missouri Proposition A, Minimum wage hike and sick time: No endorsement. There are valid arguments on both sides. Voters should consider them carefully.
St. Louis city Prop B, Reforming city budgeting process: Yes. Right now, just three city officials decide almost everything. The full Board of Aldermen needs a more active role.
St. Louis city Prop S, 3% fee on short-term rentals: Yes. Airbnb-type rentals have created special issues for the city that merit a special levy.
St. Louis city Prop T, Creating a city Department of Transportation: Yes. Modern transit issues require an encompassing approach to streets, bike paths and other transportation amenities.
St. Louis city Prop V, Lifting the cap on property code violations: Yes. It’s past time to make it more expensive to be a slumlord.
Editor's note: Amendment 7 was inadvertently left off an earlier version of this post. It has been added.
