Jay Ashcroft is one of three major Republican contenders for the Missouri governor’s office in next month’s primary. He’s spent nearly two terms as Secretary of State and could have run for a third term. But he told Missourinet that nearly eight years in one office is enough.
“I don’t think it’s good for people to just stay in just one position,” he said. “They start to think it’s their position instead of the people’s position, that they bestow on who they want. I didn’t think it was good for me to stick around as Secretary of State.”
He’s been generally considered the frontrunner for the job, in large part because of name recognition. His father, John Ashcroft, is a former Missouri governor, U.S. Senator, and U.S. Attorney General under President George W. Bush.
“Well, I’m very thankful that my dad taught me about public service, that he taught me about being honest, that he taught me about integrity, and it’s those values that I’ve used and that I’ve shown as I’ve been Secretary of State.”
But he also told Missourinet that people have looked at his own actions as Secretary of State, which he said includes make Missouri’s elections “world-leading” and new rules designed to keep minors from getting access to pornographic materials at public libraries.
Ashcroft’s priorities for governor include cutting the size of state government and cracking down on crime. But he lists his number one priority as putting parents in charge of their children’s education.
“Instead of sending the money that the state spends to a (public) school, putting that into a savings account for that parent so they can make the decision as to what’s best for each of their individual children,” he said. We’re seeing that happen across the nation and it’s getting results for our children and elevating their potential to meet the maximum of the God-given potential.”
Ashcroft, meanwhile, took some flack earlier this year at a candidates’ forum in which he made comments on special benefits for Missouri’s military community. His opponents accused Ashcroft of opposing special discounts for active-duty servicemembers and veterans. But he said that’s not at all what he meant.
“But what I was saying was, we need to make sure that everyone is treated equally under the law,” he said. “I’m really sick and tired of every election year, politicians saying, ‘We’re gonna do something special for veterans,’ and yet they don’t follow through on what we already owe veterans. Right now, we have veterans that can’t get the health care that they should be able to get, or when they can get it they’re having to drive two hours and they’re having to pay out of pocket for what was supposed to be free.”
Ashcroft is running against Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe and State Senator Bill Eigel in the Republican primary for governor on August 6th. Democrats running for Missouri governor include House Minority Leader Crystal Quade and businessman Mike Hamra, both of Springfield.
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