MoInd 📰

Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick easily won renomination Tuesday as the Republican candidate for a second term, taking more than 80% of the vote against Jerry Wistrand of Oak Grove. The primary was a mostly unseen campaign, with Fitzpatrick spending little and Wistrand having little to spend. Fitzpatrick’s campaign spent just $115,000 from the start […]

A late endorsement from President Donald Trump boosted state Sen. Rick Brattin to the Republican nomination for Congress in Missouri’s 5th District Tuesday against former Boone County Clerk Taylor Burks. Trump was the instigator of Missouri’s gerrymandered redistricting map and issued his endorsement just before 5:30 p.m. Monday, after early voting had ended and too […]

Missouri voters rejected major Republican priorities on Tuesday as proposals to eliminate the income tax and change the way initiative petition majorities are counted lost by large margins across the state.  Amendment 4 lost 80% to 20%, while Amendment 5 fared worse, losing 83% to 16%.  “Amendments 4 and 5 have been buried so deep […]

Incumbent U.S. Rep. Wesley Bell staved off former Congresswoman Cori Bush in the Democratic primary for the 1st Congressional District on Tuesday, ending the most expensive candidate primary in Missouri this year. Bell received 59% of the vote, compared to only 37% for Bush.  He will take on Republican Paul Berry III and Libertarian Tom […]

Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins blocked a public vote on the state’s new congressional map Tuesday, declaring a referendum petition unconstitutional a few hours before polls closed in the primary election. He refused to tell reporters at a Jefferson City press conference whether the petition had enough valid signatures to qualify for the November […]

WASHINGTON — U.S. acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was one step closer to permanently leading the Justice Department Tuesday, after two skeptical Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans voted to advance his nomination given Blanche’s signed promise that President Donald Trump’s nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund is dead. Republican Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis […]

As millions of acres burn across the western United States, some wildland fire veterans are fearful that aggressive fire suppression tactics ordered by the Trump administration — coupled with extreme, fast-moving blazes — could put firefighters in danger as conditions escalate this month.  Those extreme weather conditions fueled disaster in Eastern Washington Saturday when a […]

WASHINGTON — More than 20,000 unaccompanied immigrant children Monday lost their legal representation because the Trump administration has not entered into a new agreement to take over their legal services after it let a longstanding contract with a nonprofit expire. Without legal representation, fewer than 10% of immigrant children win the right to remain in […]

WASHINGTON — States do not have time before November’s midterm elections to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order mandating overhauls of their mail-in-voting systems, two dozen Democratic state officials told the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday. Justices should keep a stay pausing the order in place through Election Day, the Democrats, led by California […]

OKLAHOMA CITY — U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin this weekend implored states and cities to cooperate with federal immigration officials, which he said would lead to safer and lower-profile arrests and deportations. Speaking to a group of Democratic and Republican governors gathered for the National Governors Association summer meeting, Mullin called on local governments […]

Voters will head to the polls Tuesday to choose nominees for state auditor, Congress and a host of state legislative seats, as well as decide the fate of four proposed constitutional amendments. The Independent tried to answer some of the questions you may have about voting in Missouri’s primary.  Polls across the state open at […]

What is your reaction when viewing TV, listening to the radio or surfing digital platforms and there is a political ad filled with false and misleading information that you can neither verify nor confirm? Billions of dollars are spent in a national election cycle. Millions of those dollars are spent by candidates and ballot-measure campaigns […]

WASHINGTON — Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, on Sunday said Rep. Max Miller, also of Ohio and his former son-in-law, is not fit to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives as he faces allegations of domestic abuse from his ex-wife, who is Moreno’s daughter.  Moreno did not publicly address the domestic abuse allegations against Miller, […]

WASHINGTON — Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination to be attorney general appeared on track Monday after he submitted a written assurance to Senate Judiciary Committee lawmakers that the administration’s nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund that could potentially pay pardoned violent Jan. 6 defendants is dead. Blanche’s signed statement that an order establishing the fund […]

WASHINGTON —The U.S. Senate voted Monday to advance a bipartisan measure to keep the federal government funded through Dec. 11 and pause the Trump administration’s effort to add controversial new criteria for federal grants. The agreement — which Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, and Vice Chair Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington state, […]

Today’s children could be the first generation since the 1970s to do better than their parents as young workers become more sought after and well paid. They may even see a surplus of housing to make their lives even easier after recent shortages.  An abundance of young workers will turn into an undersupply by 2040, […]

Many states have made marked progress over the past two years in extending crucial care and benefits to children, workers and aging adults. But they will be hard-pressed to fill the void left by impending federal cuts to social services, according to a new analysis. A report released this week by The Century Foundation and […]

In the midst of navigating a turbulent divorce last year, Claire learned she was pregnant.   “It wasn’t the right time for me to have a child,” said Claire, who lives in Kansas City and agreed to speak on the condition that she be identified by her first name, citing concerns for her privacy and the […]

CHICAGO — The escalating feud between states and online prediction markets was on full display at a summit of state lawmakers this week as legislators publicly scolded Kalshi and Polymarket, the two most prominent platforms. Prediction market platforms say they are like commodity markets that offer contracts to speculate on the future price of corn […]

Missouri election officials expect as many as 1.4 million voters will cast ballots by the time polls close Tuesday, continuing the historic trend of high turnout in primary elections featuring major ballot questions. Secretary of State Denny Hoskins last week forecast turnout will be about 32% of registered voters, which if correct would be the […]