OSAGE COUNTY — Osage County Republican Central Committee Chair Linda Rantz on March 15 issued a detailed response to criticism published earlier in the Unterrified Democrat, rejecting claims that the committee’s candidate vetting process represents an outsider-led effort to take control of local Republican politics and disputing accusations raised by Jerrilyn “Jerry” Voss and Western District Commissioner Dale Logan.

The committee’s statement responds to two items published in the March 11 edition of the UD: a “Mail Bag” letter from Voss and comments attributed to Logan in a commission news article. The committee said both pieces mischaracterized its efforts and falsely portrayed the vetting process as a “takeover” by outsiders.

The response marks the latest development in an ongoing dispute over the Republican committee’s candidate nomination process and who has authority to determine which candidates appear on the Republican primary ballot.

The committee maintains that candidates seeking to run under the Republican label must first obtain nomination through the party’s vetting process before appearing on the primary ballot. Opponents of the process have argued candidates who properly file during the statutory filing period should appear on the ballot and allow voters to determine the party nominee.

Rantz opened the committee’s response by directly addressing criticism labeling her an outsider.

“Yes, I’m an ‘outsider.’ I grew up as a military dependent because my father served 23 years in the armed forces, moving us every year in my early childhood. I don’t have lifelong friends or a single hometown, but I have immense pride in my father’s service to this country. If ‘outsider’ means someone who values duty and conservative principles, I’ll wear it proudly. Someone in Osage County should let me know when the ‘initiation period’ ends for ‘outsiders’ to graduate to at least ‘neighbor’ status — I’d like to inform other military members and families how long it takes before they can expect to be welcomed here.”

According to the committee’s statement, Voss’s letter had already been published and circulating when Rantz met with her on the morning of March 11, less than 24 hours after receiving a phone call requesting the meeting.

Rantz said she was unaware the letter had been published when the meeting occurred, and was surprised when Voss arrived accompanied by Mary Perry, who was introduced as someone interested in filing for committeewoman.

According to the release, Perry told Rantz that when she and her husband moved from Seattle five years ago, they “should have moved to Kansas City or St. Louis” because they “don’t understand Osage County.”

Rantz said Perry stated emphatically that everyone in Osage County already knows who the Republicans are and who the Democrats are, adding that “we don’t need your process.”

The statement also says Voss accused Rantz of treating local residents like “dumb hicks” for sharing lessons she said she learned while living in Washington state during political changes there, including the 2004 gubernatorial recount controversy.

Rantz rejected that accusation.

“Voss’s ‘dumb hicks’ claim is absurd – that I think I am smarter than anyone else because Craig and I are trying to give warnings based on our Washington experiences. Has anyone paid attention to the new mayor in Seattle? How about New York City? This is how it begins.”

Rantz said the meeting was disingenuous adding that Voss’s characterization of the committee’s actions and motives has stirred unnecessary division in the community.

The committee also responded to criticism from Logan.

The statement said Logan referenced what he described as “negative Facebook posts,” but Rantz said those posts were official committee press releases, some of which were also covered by the Unterrified Democrat.

Rantz also disputed Logan’s claim that the committee rejected an attempt by him to speak before the group.

According to the statement, Logan’s “olive branch” consisted of a single text message requesting to address the committee because he proclaims himself to be “a great speaker.”

Rantz said she suggested Logan address the committee sometime after the April 30 Lincoln Day Dinner.

The committee said Logan characterized that response as being “shot down.”

Rantz noted that press releases and screenshots of the text message and transcript are available in the OCRC website library.

The second half of the release addresses what it describes as the core issue, asking: “WHY IS ‘THIS’ THE HILL TO DIE ON FOR OCRC?”

The committee said it is seeking to protect what it describes as the Republican Party’s First Amendment right of association. The release cites court decisions supporting that right, including the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2000 ruling in CA Democratic Party v. Jones, written by Justice Antonin Scalia.

The committee said Missouri law requires candidates for partisan office to seek nomination from the political party whose ballot they want to appear on.

Candidates who do not wish to run under a party label may run as independents, the release states, but must gather voter signatures, which the committee described as voters effectively nominating the candidate.

The release raised the question of whether the Republican committee could subjectively decide who receives a nomination.

Rantz answered the question directly.

“Yes, the committee could flip a coin or pick favorites,” she said. “Unlike Perry’s claim of knowing every Republican and Democrat in the county, OCRC wanted something structured and fair. We began work on and implemented a nomination process three years ago. It includes vetting from a third-party application that gives the committee a solid starting point for determining nominations.”

According to the release, every county candidate except one complied with the committee’s process during the 2024 election cycle and all were nominated.

Rantz said the situation has changed in 2026.

The committee said six candidates are attempting to place their names on the Republican primary ballot without completing the nomination process. The release states all six candidates — including four incumbents — are likely well known in the county.

Rantz said many people taking sides in the dispute appear to be doing so based on who the candidates are and their personal or business relationships with them, rather than understanding what she believes could be the long-term damage to the Republican Party and the county.

Rantz offered a hypothetical example to explain the committee’s concern.

“Consider if a well-known Democrat files to run as a Republican,” Rantz said. “How do county Republicans keep that known Democrat off the Republican primary ballot? It’s the committee’s nomination process and our legal right under Missouri law and our First Amendment right under the U.S. Constitution to make these decisions.”

Rantz also argued that candidates bypassing the committee’s process are effectively self-nominating.

“I don’t think these six candidates realize that bypassing the committee’s nomination process and forcing their names onto Republican primary ballot is basically the same as self-nominating themselves,” Rantz wrote. “Missouri has zero laws that allow self-nominations. But if they can do it, then anyone can do it. Not just Democrats, but progressives, socialists, communists.”

According to the release, those candidates could only appear on the Republican primary ballot without committee nomination if Interim County Clerk Brooke Dudenhoeffer — whom the committee identifies as one of the six candidates — places their names on the ballot and forces the committee to seek legal recourse to have the names removed.

The committee said Dudenhoeffer told Rantz she was “just doing what I’m told” by Presiding Commissioner Darryl Griffin, whose nomination the committee said it has rejected, and by the Missouri Clerks Association.

The release states the county has been told it could hire the clerks association’s lawyer to represent the county against OCRC, which Rantz said would mean county taxpayer funds being used for legal fees.

The committee said when Rantz asked why taxpayer money would be used in such a dispute, Dudenhoeffer replied, “there’s a commissioner who doesn’t want to vet.”

The committee rejected claims that the nomination process represents a takeover.

The release states the vetting system was championed by former OCRC Chairman Mark Lieneke, described as a lifelong Osage County resident.

The committee maintains the vetting system is not an attempt to take control of local politics, but a continuation of policies “championed” by former OCRC chairman Mark Lieneke. “At Lincoln Day 2025 (which Voss did not attend), Mark devoted 60 minutes to explaining its necessity for aligning candidates with conservative principles and safeguarding the Republican brand,” Rantz noted in the release. “We are simply continuing his legacy.”

Rantz closed the statement with a final warning.

“If this is a takeover, it is not coming from outsiders. The military term is ‘the enemy is inside the wire.’”