JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — When Missouri Republican Party Chairman Ed Martin announced on Monday that he would not seek re-election later this month, the field looked clear for John Hancock, a St. Louis-based political consultant who announced his candidacy late last year.
But a day later, after the air cleared, that dynamic changed.
Two Republicans, including Nick Myers, chairman of the Newton County Republican Party, and Eddy Justice, a southeast Missouri Republican activist, told The Joplin Globe in interviews on Tuesday night that they are entering the race.
Myers, who has been chairman in Newton County for a decade and a county committeeman there for 30 years, said he believes party leaders want someone who can be in touch with the activist base, not someone who works well with political consultants.
“Folks are looking for someone from the grass roots,” he said. “Even for an old guy, they’d consider me a fresh approach.”
Myers said his goal would be to channel the parties resources to elect a Republican governor, an effort he said would require updating the party’s voter file, which they use to target likely voters with phone calls and door knocks in advance of election day.
“You identify their voters, make sure they vote on election day,’ he said. ‘We used to be able to do this through land lines, but you can’t do that anymore. You have to have people identified and make sure they turn out to vote in the general election. If we do that, we elect a Republican governor and probably everybody else on the statewide ballot.”
Within the party, Martin had earned criticism for his struggles with fundraising. In the party’s January financial report, for example, it had ended the quarter with only $250 in the state committee.
Justice, a Poplar Bluff insurance salesman who leads fundraising for the Missouri House Republican Campaign Committee, said coordinating between the party’s House and Senate committees with the efforts being taken on by the state party would be a goal of his, if elected.
“I have the experience to be able to raise money,’ he said. ‘I have the ability to orchestrate the state convention. I know how to orchestrate grass-roots and to involve younger generations in the process and to communicate the message to younger generations. We have failed in the past.”
He added, “A lot of the people on the committee know who I am,” because he ‘spent a lot of time building relationships with Republicans across the state,” including sending out a newsletter and speaking at party events.
Both Myers and Justice said they respected Hancock, but both said they wanted to represent the activist voice.
In a text message Tuesday night, Hancock said he feels confident in his chances heading into the election, now less than three weeks away.
“I feel like I’ve plowed the ground, planted the corn, watered the seeds and now everyone else wants to eat the corn crop,” he said. “I know I can do the job of rebuilding our party and hope the members of the committee think so too.”
Date and place
Three will be seeking the support from the majority of the 64 members of the Missouri Republican Party state committee when it meets in Kansas City on Feb. 21 to tab a state party chairman.