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Missouri Candidate Page

Created by the Missouri Stance on Science team. Please contact stanceonsciencemissouri@gmail.com with any questions. Follow us on Instagram.

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Missouri will face many challenges in the coming years, and it is increasingly critical that our policymakers understand the importance of evidence-based decision-making. The goals of this resource are to:

  1. Provide voters with clear, accessible information so they can see how candidates value science in decision-making.
  2. Hold candidates accountable by sharing their responses publicly on our website and via local media.
  3. Encourage thoughtful engagement between communities and policymakers on science policy-related topics in our state.

Through Stance on Science, we hope to help Missourians understand how their elected representatives will utilize science to improve the state that they love. Learn more about this initiative on the home page.

How to use this resource

This webpage houses the responses to 5 questions crafted by the Missouri Stance on Science team.

Only official candidates who will appear on ballots were contacted.

Candidates were contacted in June 2026 (with a follow-up to those who did not initially respond) and given the opportunity to answer all questions. Only the responses of candidates who answered the questions are included. None of the candidates' responses were modified in any way before being published on this resource page.

For the August 2026 primary election, only candidates in the following elections were contacted:

US House of Representatives
  • Republican, Democratic, and Libertarian Party Primary for Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Missouri Senate
  • Republican and Democratic Party Primary for Districts 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34
  • Libertarian Party Primary for District 30

Prior to the general election in November 2026, additional candidates will be contacted across all state districts. For a complete list of which elections will be targeted at that time, please check back in Summer 2026.

The questions posed
  1. In their 2024–2025 report, the Missouri Office of Rural Health reported that 42% of counties in MO do not have a hospital. What policies, if any, do you plan to implement to address access to health care, primarily in rural areas? (see "Public Health")
  2. The Missouri Department of Agriculture has reported that Agriculture and related industries have contributed 93.7 billion dollars in economic output and 456,618 jobs to Missouri in 2021. Would you continue to develop and support agtech business in Missouri as well as the education and scientific training for Missourians to contribute to this industry? Why or why not? (see "Agriculture")
  3. America has a growing AI industry, supporting cutting-edge innovation but raising issues of resource use, privacy, and economics. In your opinion, what are the costs and benefits of new data center construction in Missouri and how would your policies accomplish a balance between them? (see "Artificial Intelligence")
  4. If elected, in what capacities would you refer to scientists when you are deciding how to vote on a policy? (see "Trust in Science")
  5. What are your opinions on the current state of science literacy, and how could K-12 education standards be adapted to improve the public understanding of and relationship building in science? (see "K-12 Science Education")

Disclaimer

The responses of candidates shared on this webpage do not reflect the views of the Missouri Stance on Science team or the Scientist Network for Advancing Policy (SNAP) Coalition. SNAP is a non-partisan organization (please see more about SNAP here). SNAP and the Missouri Stance on Science team do not endorse any candidates. The goals of this initiative can be found here. Please contact stanceonsciencemissouri@gmail.com with any questions.

To find your districts for state and federal races and see who is on your ballot, please visit the Missouri Secretary of State "Check Your Voter Registration" portal.

August 2026 primary election

No candidate responses have been published yet. Please check back soon.

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