93.9 The Eagle – The News and Talk of Columbia, MO
Boone County GOP officials say pre-registrations are up for this year’s Boone County Lincoln Days banquet.
Boone County Republican spokesman Tony Lupo tells 939 the Eagle’s “Wake Up Mid-Missouri” that the event is Monday April 17 at Columbia’s Stoney Creek Inn.
“Our (state) treasurer Vivek Malek will be there as our keynote speaker and then we will have our guest speaker (Secretary of State) Jay Ashcroft, who recently announced he’s running for governor,” Lupo says.
Mr. Lupo says the social hour begins at 5 that evening, with dinner at 6 and the program starting at 6:30. “Wake Up Mid-Missouri” host Branden Rathert will be the emcee.
Meantime, the Boone County GOP is hopeful that they’ll be able to hold on to mid-Missouri’s 19th state senate district seat, which is currently held by Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden (R-Columbia). He’s term-limited and will leave the Senate at the end of 2024. The district has lost Republican stronghold Cooper County and is now a Boone County-only district. We asked Mr. Lupo about the race on “Wake Up Mid-Missouri.”
“We still have fared very well in Boone County. I think (State Sen.) Caleb Rowden, if you look at how he polled in Boone County (2016 and 2020), it was very close both times with him. And I think it’s a very winnable race, it’s just going to depend on if we can get a great candidate,” says Lupo.
Senator Rowden defeated then-State Rep. Stephen Webber (D-Columbia) in a tight race in 2016, and won re-election against former State Rep. Judy Baker (D-Columbia) in a tough 2020 race.
