Voters in mid-Missouri’s 44th House district in Boone County will have a new state representative in January.
Incumbent State Rep. Cheri Toalson Reisch (R-Hallsville) is term-limited, and two familiar names are running to try to replace her. Republican businessman John Martin faces Democrat Dave Raithel in November. Mr. Raithel has worked as a truck driver, a musician and a farm hand. Raithel, a veteran, He tells 939 the Eagle that voters he talks to are frustrated:
“The most common thing I hear from the doors I’m knocking are people who are simply fed up with I’m going to call political culture. They are weary are having to choose just between Republicans and Democrats. And I say hallelujah, I agree. That’s why I am a proponent of things like ranked choice or runoff voting,” Mr. Raithel says.
He supports labor unions and says no one who will work should go without a living wage. He’ll face businessman John Martin in November. Mr. Martin, who owns Pro Pumping and Hydrojetting, has also been going door-to-door. He tells 939 the Eagle that agriculture is a top priority, if he wins:
“I grew up on a farm in Centralia, and so you’ve got all the rural farmland in Centralia all the way down to Hartsburg. Both good flatland and some hill ground. Some cattle being raised plus the good bottom ground down there in Hartsburg. The pumpkins and the soybeans and corn,” says Mr. Martin.
The 44th legislative district includes Centralia, Ashland, Hartsburg and other areas of Boone County. Republicans currently have a 111-51 supermajority in the Missouri House. Mr. Raithel tells 939 the Eagle that the GOP-controlled Legislature should stop cutting taxes and fund Missouri’s schools and public infrastructure as needed:
“So even through the way taxes have been redesigned, some people are paying a lot more in sales taxes. Some people are paying a lot more in property taxes. And so their actual tax burden may very well have gone up as individuals, but as a whole Missouri is not taxed as heavily as it was when Hancock was implemented,” says Mr. Raithel.
Mr. Martin is focusing on agriculture and infrastructure as he goes door-to-door:
“With my company Pro Pumping I’ve got five big pump trucks on the roads every day. We’ve got farmers with their combines, so we’ve got to really take a look at our roads. We’ve got some road needs, bridges and just infrastructure needs that are vital to agriculture,” says Mr. Martin.
Martin and Raithel ran unsuccessfully for the Missouri House in 2022: Martin was defeated by Columbia Democrat Adrian Plank and Raithel lost his race to Representative Toalson Reisch.
