Politically Speaking

Sen.-elect Eric Burlison, the latest guest on Politically Speaking, talked about the upcoming legislative session  — including his bill that would implement “right to work” in Missouri. The Greene County Republican served for eight years in the Missouri House before hitting term limits. He successfully ran for a state Senate seat this year that includes part of Greene and all of Christian County....

Veteran Democrat Mike Jones – who has played significant roles in St. Louis and St. Louis County government – joins Politically Speaking to offer his take on how best for Democrats to regroup after their generally poor showing. Jones also talks policy, particularly in his current role as a member of the state Board of Education. Jones began his political career more than three decades ago as a St....

State Rep.-elect Mary Elizabeth Coleman joins Politically Speaking to talk about her big win in Missouri’s 97th District House seat — and her expectations about the upcoming legislative session. Coleman is a Republican from Arnold who defeated Democratic state Rep. Mike Revis in this month’s election. She will represent parts of St. Louis and Jefferson counties when lawmakers return for the 2019 s...

St. Louis Alderman Scott Ogilvie returns to Politically Speaking to talk about the pressing issues before the Board of Aldermen — and why he’s decided to leave after the 2019 elections. Ogilvie represents the 24th Ward, which takes in six neighborhoods around southwestern St. Louis. That includes neighborhoods that encompass Dogtown, such as Cheltenham, Clayton Tamm, Franz Park, Hi-Pointe and Elle...

Sen.-elect Cindy O’Laughlin joins the Politically Speaking podcast for the first time to talk about her priorities for the 18th Senatorial District — and her experiences as a first-time candidate. O’Laughlin won the election last week to represent the 18th Senatorial District district, which takes in a swath of northeast Missouri including cities like Hannibal, Kirksville and Bowling Green.

St. Louis Public Radio’s political trio – Jason Rosenbaum, Jo Mannies and Rachel Lippmann – did a postmortem of Tuesday’s election results on the latest edition of the Politically Speaking podcast. The upshot is that Missouri Republicans did well, and state Democrats have some rebuilding to do. U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., was ousted by Republican Josh Hawley, and state Auditor Nicole Gallow...

For Missouri Democrats, tomorrow is judgment day. After leading the Show Me State for most of its existence, voters will decide if the last two Democratic statewide officials remain in their posts. If U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill and state Auditor Nicole Galloway prevail, it could provide a jolt for a party seeking to rebound after the disaster of 2016. But if GOP Attorney General Josh Hawley is abl...

Missouri Democratic Party Chairman Stephen Webber joins St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies to talk about how Democrats are stacking up in next week’s election. Both Webber and Missouri Republican Party Chairman Todd Graves recorded episodes of Politically Speaking. You can listen to Graves’ episode by clicking here. Webber is a former state representative from Columbia who was...

Missouri Republican Party Chairman Todd Graves joins St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies on the latest edition of Politically Speaking. Both Graves and Missouri Democratic Party Chairman Stephen Webber taped podcasts giving their perspective on next week’s election, which will have a major impact on the state’s future political trajectory. Graves is a partner at the Graves Garr...

St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies take a deep look at Amendment 1 on the latest edition of Political Speaking. The measure, widely known as Clean Missouri, combines a host of ethics-related alterations with an overhaul of state legislative redistricting. Out of all the things on the Nov. 6 ballot, Clean Missouri is eliciting the most unusual political alliances. Proponents in...

GOP state auditor nominee Saundra McDowell joins the Politically Speaking podcast to talk about her campaign for the statewide office. McDowell is squaring off against incumbent Democrat Nicole Galloway, who was appointed to her post after Tom Schweich’s death in 2015. You can listen to Galloway’s appearance on the show here. McDowell is an Oklahoma native and Air Force veteran who received her la...

State Auditor Nicole Galloway returns to the Politically Speaking podcast to talk about her quest for a full four-year in office. The Democratic official was appointed to her post in 2015 after the suicide of  Tom Schweich. She’s squaring off against Republican Saundra McDowell in Nov. 6 election. McDowell’s episode of Politically Speaking will be posted on Wednesday afternoon.

St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies examine Thursday night’s televised debate between U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill and Attorney General Josh Hawley. The debate comes as most polls show a tight race between McCaskill and Hawley. And few observers believe that Democrats have any chance of taking over the Senate if McCaskill can’t win a third term. Among other things, the candidates...

Congresswoman Ann Wagner joins Politically Speaking to talk about her re-election battle against Democrat Cort VanOstran. The Ballwin Republican represents Missouri's 2nd District, which includes parts of St. Louis, St. Charles and Jefferson Counties. Many political prognosticators believe that Democrats have a good chance of retaking the House this year. And if they do, the party may gain the mos...

St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies delve into the three medical marijuana initiatives. Missourians will vote on Amendment 2, Amendment 3 and Proposition C. All three initiatives would make it legal to get marijuana for medical use. But they differ greatly in terms of how much marijuana will be taxed, how the regulatory framework would work, and where the money would go toward.

St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies look at three things playing a big role in Missouri’s 2018 election cycle. The first is debate over pre-existing conditions between U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill and her GOP opponent Josh Hawley. It stems from Hawley’s decision to be a part of a lawsuit seeking to upend the Affordable Care Act. McCaskill made health care a signature issue of her...

Randy Auxier, the Green Party nominee in Illinois’ 12th Congressional District, is the latest guest on the Politically Speaking podcast. Auxier is running against incumbent Republican Congressman Mike Bost and Democratic nominee Brendan Kelly. Both Kelly and Bost both recorded episodes of Politically Speaking earlier this year. Auxier is a Memphis native who is currently a philosophy professor at...

Democrat Robert Butler is the latest guest on Politically Speaking. He joins St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Abigail Censky to talk about his bid for the 22nd District Senate seat. Butler is running against incumbent Sen. Paul Wieland, an Imperial Republican who first captured the Jefferson County-based district in 2014. Wieland’s episode of Politically Speaking was posted on Monday....

Sen. Paul Wieland is the latest guest on Politically Speaking. He talked with St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum, Jo Mannies and Abigail Censky about his re-election bid in Missouri’s 22nd District Senate seat. The Imperial Republican represents a portion of Jefferson County in the Missouri Senate. His race against Democrat Robert Butler is one of the most competitive state Senate races in t...

St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies look at the importance of Jefferson County in this year’s statewide election. Whenever there’s a competitive statewide election, Jefferson County often gets a lot of attention. That’s because voters there almost always pick winners of statewide elections — as they did in 2016 and 2012.

Democrat Patrice Billings is the latest guest on the Politically Speaking podcast. The St. Charles County resident talked to St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies about her bid for Missouri’s 2nd Senatorial District seat. Billings worked for several decades a helicopter pilot for the St. Louis County Police Department. She is squaring off against incumbent Sen. Bob Onder, a Lake...

St. Louis County Assessor Jake Zimmerman joins St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies to talk about his re-election bid — and what he learned from his successful run for attorney general two years ago. The Olivette Democrat has served as St. Louis County assessor since 2011. Before that, Zimmerman was a member of the Missouri House and a staffer for governors Jay Nixon and Bob Hol...

Illinois Congressman Mike Bost joined St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies on Politically Speaking to talk about his bid for a third term. The Murphysboro Republican has represented Illinois’ 12th District since 2015. He’s running against Democrat Brendan Kelly, who is St. Clair County’s state’s attorney. The Bost-Kelly race is expected to be one of the competitive congressional...

U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill’s decision to vote against Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court is a key topic of the latest Politically Speaking podcast. St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies look into how undisclosed political money is playing into the contest between McCaskill and GOP Attorney Josh Hawley. It comes as millions of 501(c)(4) cash is going to support Hawl...

East Central College hosted a candidate forum on Thursday night featuring numerous contenders for local, state and federal offices. St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum moderated the event, which featured questions on pressing public policy issues — as well as ballot initiatives that voters will consider on the Nov. 6 election.   The candidates that Rosenbaum questioned include: State Sen. Dav...