Missouri State Auditor Tom Schweich has spoken often in recent years of a possible run for Governor. And it seems that he intends to put his speech into action sooner than later.
Just two weeks ago he hinted that a final decision on the subject would be announced before mid-February, but sources are saying that timeline has been shortened to before February 1st. Wednesday, to be exact.
He will join former House Speaker Catherine Hanaway what is likely to be a heated Republican Primary. Senator Claire McCaskill’s recent announcement indicating that she had no plans to enter the gubernatorial race leaves Attorney General Chris Koster likely unopposed in the Democrat primary.
What this means is that in order to best AG Koster, Schweich will have to raise enough funds to compete with Hanaway and still have enough in reserve for the general election. The fact that he has already won a statewide election and boasts the commensurate name recognition may give him a slight edge when it comes to raising funds from all over the state.
The timing is good as well – he makes this announcement on the heels of some very bad press for current Governor Jay Nixon. The current Governor has repeatedly failed the state regarding the response to the situation in Ferguson, and it recently came to light that he called off the National Guard when they were sorely needed and misused funds directed to Ferguson to aid in the city’s recovery.
AG Koster will likely do everything he can to distance himself from the current Governor and the issues that plague him, but because he claims the same party he can only step so far. There are some who will look no further than his party affiliation and see him simply as part of the problem, leaving the door open for any Republican who makes it through the primary.
Schweich is planning to make an announcement regarding his gubernatorial campaign on Wednesday, January 28 at 4pm on the University of Missouri St. Louis campus.
