Tagged: Kevin Engler

Nine State Senators won’t be returning to Jefferson City next year due to term limits.  Among them, Republican Kevin Engler of Farmington, who made a failed bid two years ago to become President Pro-tem after serving as Majority Leader.  Since then, he has been outspoken on the way the Senate works, or in the views of some political observers, doesn’t work.

St. Louis Public Radio’s Marshall Griffin talked with Engler on the final day of the regular session.

An attempt to replace Missouri’s presidential primary with statewide caucuses has failed in the State Senate, meaning the February 7th Democratic and Republican primaries will go on as scheduled.

Before the vote, some amendments were offered, including one that would have moved the primary forward to January.  None of them passed, but they reflected efforts by several Republicans to preserve the state's primary.  State Senator Eric Schmitt (R, Glendale) said that caucuses result in fewer people having a say in who they want for president.

The Missouri Republican Party is abandoning the presidential primary and will use the caucus system to choose delegates for next year’s presidential race.  The decision comes as a bill that would move the party primaries from February to March remains stalled in the Missouri Senate.

The national GOP had given the state until midnight on October First to move the presidential primary to March, or else risk losing half its delegates.  State GOP Executive Director Lloyd Smith says if Missouri goes ahead with a presidential primary in February, it will not count.