SEDALIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri political hopefuls, including a long list of candidates vying for a U.S. Senate seat, gathered Thursday at the State Fair to bolster support.
The annual Governor’s Ham Breakfast is a political rite of passage in Missouri and a rare event that brings both Republican and Democratic candidates under the same pavilion to mingle.
Many of the wide field of U.S. Senate candidates chatted with supporters at the Ham Breakfast, including St. Louis attorney Mark McCloskey and his wife. They handed out copies of a photo of them pointing guns at social justice demonstrators as they marched past the couple’s home last year.
Republican Gov. Mike Parson this month pardoned the McCloskeys, who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges in June. Parson said he met the couple for the first time at the Ham Breakfast and they thanked him.
Incumbent Republican Roy Blunt’s announcement earlier this year that he won’t seek another term led to a flood of candidates hoping to replace him.
Other Republican candidates include Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, former Gov. Eric Greitens, and U.S. Reps. Vicky Hartzler and Billy Long. The Democratic field includes five lesser-known candidates, including former state Sen. Scott Sifton and political newcomer Lucas Kunce.
