Voters in mid-Missouri’s Ashland, Hartsburg and Centralia will have a new state representative in January.
GOP businessman John Martin and veteran Dave Raithel hope to replace term-limited State Rep. Cheri Toalson Reisch (R-Hallsville). She’s endorsed Martin. Martin and Raithel, a Democrat, are spending a lot of time knocking on doors across the district. Mr. Raithel is pro-choice and tells 939 the Eagle that he supports Amendment Three:
“Amendment Three would return us to a regime as Roe v. Wade set the parameters. And it’s one which worked,” Mr. Raithel says.
Mr. Martin, who owns Pro Pumping and Hydrojetting, is opposed to Amendment Three. He is focused on agriculture and tells 939 the Eagle that there’s a strong appetite from voters for tax reduction:
“So one of my goals is to really look at all the different departments in the state budget. And look at areas that can be trimmed, so that we can focus on what I would say the top three priorities are, which would be education, strong education, University of Missouri, things like that. Obviously infrastructure and then law enforcement, you know law and order,” says Mr. Martin.
The 44th is a Boone County-only district. Mr. Raithel tells 939 the Eagle that voters he meets appreciate his stance on abortion and on guns:
“My first line in my new literature if you look at it, it says I’m a pro-choice gun owner who believes in regulating firearms. And they (voters he meets going door-to-door) say I very much appreciate that you put your foot in both camps. It breaks the prejudice about what Democrats are,” says Raithel.
Transportation and agriculture are key issues that Mr. Martin is focusing on and hearing about:
“My background with the Boone County Fair involved in that Brian would be the 4-H and FFA groups and so I’m very supportive of that. I was part of that growing up as a kid. And so ways that we can support agriculture,” Martin says.
Martin and Raithel ran unsuccessfully for the Missouri House in 2022: Martin was defeated by Columbia Democrat Adrian Plank and Raithel was defeated by Toalson Reisch.
