JEFFERSON CITY — Republican candidates for Missouri governor emphasized their own strengths rather than attack their opponents in a debate organized by Cole County Republicans.
Most attacks were reserved for Chris Koster, the leading Democratic gubernatorial candidate. The formal rules for the Nov. 3 discussion prohibited the candidates from making negative attacks against each other.
Former Missouri House Speaker Catherine Hanaway criticized Koster’s inaction after the unrest in Ferguson last summer.
“All the while, our state attorney general, Chris Koster, sat idly by, prosecuting no one for looting, for arson, for rioting,” she said.
Two candidates, former businessman and CEO John Brunner and former Navy SEAL Eric Greitens, emphasized their status as political outsiders who are committed to bringing change to Jefferson City.
“If you believe that career politicians and political insiders in Jefferson City have failed you and your family and your neighbors, then you have a choice,” Greitens said. “You can shut up and take it, or you can decide to do something about it.”
Brunner emphasized his experience as a business leader.
“The problem about government here is that that they are not subject to competition,” Brunner said. “You need to bring somebody who understands competition, efficiency, productivity into government who has that mindset.”
But the other three candidates argued their governmental experiences were an advantage.
“The dome at our state Capitol is sort of like a fishbowl and a pressure cooker. With me, you know what you’re getting. I’ve been dome tested. That’s where character or corruption are revealed,” said Sen. Bob Dixon, R-Springfield.
Hanaway talked about the experience and knowledge she has gained both as House speaker and later as the U.S. attorney for eastern Missouri.
Lt. Governor Peter Kinder argued his statewide electoral successes demonstrated he can win elections for Republicans.
Kinder noted the absence of another person from the panel of GOP candidates — the late State Auditor Tom Schweich. He died of a self-inflicted gun shot to the head after he charged he had been subjected to a whisper campaign and after a radio advertisement was aired that mocked his appearance.
“I join him in his call that it is time to end the politics of personal destruction in our state, the idea that you get a bucket of slime to dump on the head of your opponent,” Kinder said. “I call on the other candidates to join me and to conduct a campaign that lays facts and fair argument on the table and discusses the issues candidly and honestly and lets the people decide.”
The other four candidates did not directly respond to Kinder’s challenge.
On policy issues, the candidates cited traditional conservative positions, including passage of Right to Work, easing government regulation, liability lawsuit limits and repealing Obamacare.