FREEBURG — Loose Creek resident Stacy Bax, Democratic candidate for Missouri House District 61 and president of the Osage County Democratic Club, tied her candidacy to decades of advocacy for people with disabilities, her experiences as a mother and small-business owner, and concerns about education, health care, corporate tax incentives, and large-scale development.

Bax told a crowd at Friday’s annual Democrat Party Dinner co-sponsored by Osage and Maries counties’ committees that she entered the race because she believes elected officials too often vote according to party rather than the interests of their communities. “I’m tired of watching elected officials vote party line, even when it hurts our communities,” Bax said.

She said conversations throughout the district have centered on affordability, education, health care, corporate tax incentives, and residents feeling excluded from decisions involving data centers and other major developments.

Bax said her approach to public service was shaped by her family. Twenty-two years ago, her son was diagnosed with autism and epilepsy at age 3. She recalled being told about things he might never accomplish and responding by learning to advocate for the services and opportunities he needed.

“That experience changed my life,” Bax said. “It taught me how to listen. It taught me how to ask hard questions, and it taught me how to stand up when something wasn’t right.”

Her son, now 25, lives independently, drives, and works after years in which Bax sought appropriate services and support. “So, when I hear about cuts to those services, I don’t see numbers on a spreadsheet,” she said. “I see families and futures.”

Bax also raised two children with dyslexia who benefited from public education. Her advocacy eventually expanded beyond her family, including nearly a decade on the county’s SB 40 board and more than 20 years advocating for students with disabilities.

Bax grew up on a small family farm in the same community where she later raised her children.

“Where I come from, you show up,” she said. “You work hard. You take care of your neighbors. And at the end of the day, it’s not about which side gets the credit. It’s about whether something actually helps the people.”

Bax said she never intended to seek office but became increasingly concerned about Medicaid, public education, disability services, and decisions made without meaningful input from affected residents.

“My life has taught me that if you want change, sometimes you have to be the one willing to step up and make it happen,” she said. “So here I am.”

If elected, Bax said she would advocate for public education, rural health care, agriculture, small businesses, workers, seniors, families, and people with disabilities while ensuring residents have a voice when major corporations or technology companies propose developments.

Bax noted House District 61 has not had a Democratic candidate in nearly a decade and cited Missouri political newsletter MOScout identifying the district as a race to watch. “Districts don’t become competitive by waiting,” Bax said. “They become competitive because candidates run, volunteers organize, and campaigns refuse to accept that it has always been this way.”

She concluded by asking attendees to speak with neighbors, knock on doors, and make calls. “Together we can bring House District 61 the voice it has always deserved,” Bax said. “Let’s go win this thing.”

Bethany Mann, Democratic nominee for Missouri’s 3rd Congressional District, emphasized environmental protection, organized labor, public education, voting rights, affordability, and opposition to corporate influence.

Mann, an environmental chemist and mother of three, said her professional background included helping agricultural producers test crops before working on environmental contamination involving lead and PFAS, commonly called “forever chemicals.”

She framed her campaign around what she described as freedom, including organizing labor, adequately funded public schools, clean air and water, and elections without political interference.

Mann also raised concerns about data centers’ effects on water supplies and electricity costs and accused elected officials of being more accessible to lobbyists and large donors than ordinary constituents.

She sharply criticized incumbent Congressman Bob Onder and said economic concerns provide Democrats an opportunity to connect with voters regardless of party affiliation.

“Chicken nuggets are $13 a bag,” Mann said, gesturing toward her children, “and let me tell you, these guys eat a lot of them.”

Although redistricting means Osage County voters will not be part of her district in the August election, Mann said she intends to maintain relationships developed in Freeburg. “I still care, and I’m still going to show up for you,” she said.

Mann urged Democrats to support candidates running in difficult districts. “Vote Democrat,” she said. “Be proud to vote Democrat. We will protect and defend our republic right here in Missouri.”

State auditor candidate Quentin Wilson focused on state-government performance, fiscal accountability, tax policy, and what he sees as an opportunity for Democrats across Missouri. He drew on his experience working in Democratic administrations, saying Missouri had once been recognized among the nation’s best-managed states.

“When I worked for Mel Carnahan and Roger Wilson and Bob Holden, we were the best-managed state in the country, twice, ’99, and 2001,” Wilson said.

He argued that Democrats have a responsibility to demonstrate government can operate effectively. “If we believe in it, we have to do it well,” Wilson said. “We have to do it cost-effectively. We’ve got to do it responsibly and transparently.”

Wilson criticized Missouri’s capital-gains tax changes and efforts to eliminate the state income tax.

He said opposition to Amendment 5 has created unusual alliances, noting he had spoken the previous day at a Libertarian Party rally alongside Libertarian and Republican state auditor candidates.

“There is a limit to how much stupidity Missourians will tolerate,” Wilson said, adding that opposition has emerged “all over the philosophical and ideological spectrum.”

Wilson said campaigning across Missouri has made him more optimistic about Democratic prospects and encouraged the party to welcome voters who may have shifted Republican in previous elections. “We’ve got to bring them back in,” he said.

Wilson described a political “tailwind” developing across Missouri. “I think there is something happening,” he said. “I could not predict it.”

House District 143 Democratic candidate Marsha Snodgrass said threats to funding for small rural schools drove her out of retirement and into a political race she never expected to enter.

“You know the Republicans have screwed up when they force a 67-year-old woman out of retirement and make her run for office,” she joked.

Snodgrass said potential reductions in state support could be devastating for rural districts including Newburg, Vienna, Belle, and schools in Texas County. “Their teachers are having to buy their own pencils,” she said.

Snodgrass, a lifelong Missourian who lives on a small family farm, said her rural background also informs her opposition to large data centers because of concerns about groundwater, electricity rates, and streams.

She pledged not to support new sales taxes, taxes on services, or reductions in public-school funding.

Snodgrass said campaigning has put her in contact with Republican voters who thanked her simply for providing another choice.

She sharply criticized her opponent’s votes on taxation, education funding, and data centers, joking that he has “the backbone of overcooked spaghetti.”

“If you vote for me, I will vote for you,” Snodgrass said.

State Senate District 26 candidate Vicky Wors criticized incumbent Sen. Ben Brown while calling for fully funded public schools, protection for organized labor, and greater scrutiny of data-center development.

Wors accused Brown of following Republican leadership rather than independently representing constituents.

Wors grew up in Port Arthur, Texas — also the hometown of singer Janis Joplin — before moving to Missouri 37 years ago. Borrowing from Joplin, she joked that each new action by the General Assembly “takes another little piece of my heart.”

She said Democratic success would also require electing House candidates including, Bax and Snodgrass. Wors described Amendments 4 and 5 as politically beneficial issues for Democrats. “Just to be honest with you, I really hate what’s going on, other than they gave us manna from heaven with Amendment 4 and 5,” she said, adding that Sen. Brown is one of the sponsors and that she plans to publicize his votes on the issues.

State Senate District 16 candidate Virginia Staabs, an accountant and bookkeeper, focused on public education, taxation, health care, and infrastructure.

Staabs called Amendment 5 “the stupidest thing they could have come up with.” She said she prepares taxes involving all 50 states and disputed claims that Missouri’s income tax discourages people from moving here.

“It’s not the income tax that’s keeping people from moving to Missouri,” she said. “We have one of the lowest in the country.”

Staabs argued Missouri’s education system is a greater obstacle to attracting families and called for a broader economic-development strategy rather than long-term preferential tax treatment for companies.

Regarding health care, Staabs said, “My definition of healthcare is anything that happens between you, the patient, and your doctor — and it’s nobody else’s business.”

She also cited bridge projects in Pulaski and Phelps counties as examples of poor state contracting, saying seven bridges were awarded under one contract to the same vendor.

“It was a bad contract and a bad bidding process, and it needs to change,” Staabs said.

St. Charles business owner and former lieutenant governor candidate Gregory Upchurch urged Democrats to concentrate more resources on local candidates, promoting what he calls “trickle up economics.”

“We all know trickle down doesn’t work, but somehow we still give all the money to our upper candidates, and it’s not working for us,” Upchurch said.

He urged Democrats to field candidates in every race, called Missouri politically “purple,” and encouraged them to talk with Republican neighbors and friends.

“You gotta have the conversation to get everything going,” Upchurch said.

Missouri Democratic Party Vice Chair Yvonne Brees Chang pointed to increased primary participation, citing a report that Pulaski County election officials had to obtain additional Democratic ballots because of heavy early voting.

“We have got some terrific candidates,” Chang said. “We have momentum. The worm is starting to turn.”

Osage County Democrat Committee Chair Larry Hunt encouraged attendees to support candidates at every level and, drawing on his career as a history teacher, offered a more urgent assessment. “We are in clear and present danger because of the president of the United States and the governor of Missouri,” Hunt said.