Chris Koster, a former County Prosecutor and member of the State Senate, currently holds the office of Attorney General in the State of Missouri. In August of this year he won the Democratic nomination for Governor and faces Republican Eric Greitens in the November general election.

A supporter of gun rights since the 1990's, Chris has been endorsed by the National Rifle Association in his race for Governor, even though his opponent has tried to curry favor with the NRA by running television ads showing himself firing high-powered weapons.

(Chris Koster official portrait)

Attorney General Koster also is a long-time friend of agriculture, Missouri's largest industry, and a supporter of the families who work those farms. Consequently, he has received the endorsement of numerous farm organizations including the Missouri Farm Bureau, an organization who traditionally endorses Republicans.

In part, some of this agricultural support may trace back to the fact that Mr. Koster started his political career as a Republican and even held the position of Chairman of the Senate Republican Caucus, the fourth-ranking position in that chamber. But in a surprise 2007 announcement, Chris switched parties, citing the far-right drift in the party that we also have been highly critical of, and the resulting extremist positions that the party is taking.

Then-Senator Koster specifically mentioned the Republicans' opposition to stem cell research, their opposition to workers' rights, and their opposition to a non-partisan court plan as some of the issues where he disagreed with the extremism in today's GOP and why he was switching parties.

For example, Chris recognizes that, in order that all Missourians contribute to the state's economy, workers should earn a living wage that can support their families. Consequently, he opposes the far right's goal of reducing or eliminating the minimum wage; rather, he favors an increase so workers can support their families without having to utilize government assistance like food stamps.

As Attorney General, Chris has been a champion of ethics and transparency in government, adopting the nation's strictest conflict-of-interest policy for the office of Attorney General. And in this age of "dark money", resulting from the Supreme Court's terrible decision to allow hidden political contributions from wealthy individuals and corporations, Chris will challenge the GOP to stop the buying of politicians/elections in this manner by working to limit contributions and to require disclosure of who is funding which candidates.

When it comes to healthcare, Chris is frustrated with the positions taken by Republicans in the state legislature. Rather than improving the health of Missouri's Citizens by expanding Medicaid, the legislature has been trying to reduce healthcare availability by making it more difficult for healthcare providers like Planned Parenthood to provide basic care. Chris is a supporter of Medicaid expansion, which will provide healthcare coverage to ~300,000 working Missourians and create thousands of new healthcare jobs throughout the state.

Chris also is a strong supporter of public education and has opposed Republican efforts during the past decade to underfund Missouri's schools in an effort to balance the state's budget. He sees education as an investment in the future of the state and the most important tool that Citizens can employ to improve their place in the state's economy.

For all of these reasons, and more, we urge Missourians to support Attorney General Chris Koster in his race for Governor this fall.

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