Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
Cindy O'Laughlin
2019 - Present
2027
6
Cindy O'Laughlin (Republican Party) is a member of the Missouri State Senate, representing District 18. She assumed office in 2019. Her current term ends on January 6, 2027.
O'Laughlin became majority leader of the Missouri Senate at the start of the 2023 legislative session.[1] In a statement following her selection as speaker, she said, "Starting today, we have one caucus ... My election to this position brings about a new way of doing things in the Senate: I am a woman in leadership. My husband is in trucking, and I’ve never been accused of being the establishment."[2]
O'Laughlin served as State Senate Majority Leader from 2023 to 2024. O'Laughlin began serving as State Senate President Pro Tempore in 2025.[3]
O'Laughlin earned a B.S. in business administration from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1978. Her career experience includes working as a vice president of Leo O’Laughlin, Inc., and owning and operating a trucking company and ready-mix concrete business. She also worked as a school bus driver and as a school administrator.[4]
O'Laughlin was elected to the chamber in 2018. O'Laughlin was a member of the conservative caucus from 2018 to 2020. When the caucus dissolved in 2022, it called for new leadership in the chamber, with O'Laughlin's name included in a shortlist of potential majority leaders.[5]
During the 2024 legislative session, O'Laughlin supported a proposed constitutional amendment that would have increased the threshold for amending the state constitution to a 57% supermajority vote, but the bill did not pass the House before the end of the legislative session. She also expressed her opposition to Amendment 3, which would provide for a state constitutional right to reproductive freedom, defined to include abortion. On both measures, she told St. Louis Public Radio, "I do believe an unborn child is a human being. And as far as [a ballot item changing the initiative petition process] goes, if that results in us having more of a voice in the rural areas, which I believe we need and I believe is more conservative than urban areas, and if that will offset an effort to try to reinstate abortion? Absolutely. I think that's a good thing."[6] Amendment 3 passed with 52% of the vote in November 2024.
Biography
Cindy O'Laughlin was born in Minburn, Iowa, and lives in Shelbina, Missouri. O'Laughlin earned a B.S. in business administration from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1978. Her career experience includes working as a vice president of Leo O’Laughlin, Inc., and owning and operating a trucking company and ready-mix concrete business. She also worked as a school bus driver and as a school administrator.
O'Laughlin served as a board member of her local school district, the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and the Shelby County Economic Development. She also served on statewide boards, such as the Associated Builders and Contractors and the Missouri Club for Growth. She joined the National Rifle Association (NRA), Missouri Cattlemen, and the Missouri Farm Bureau.[7]
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023-2024
O'Laughlin was assigned to the following committees:
- Administration Committee, Vice Chair
- Gubernatorial Appointments Committee, Vice Chair
- Rules, Joint Rules, Resolutions & Ethics Committee, Chair
2021-2022
O'Laughlin was assigned to the following committees:
- Agriculture, Food Production and Outdoor Resources Committee
- Senate Education Committee, Chairwoman
- Joint Committee on Education, Chairwoman
- Joint Committee on Government Accountability
- Joint Committee on Solid Waste Management District Operations Committee
- Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight
- Seniors, Families, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee
- Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee
- Senate Ways and Means Committee
2019-2020
O'Laughlin was assigned to the following committees:
- Joint Committee on Education
- Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight
- Agriculture, Food Production and Outdoor Resources Committee
- Senate Education Committee
- Governmental Accountability and Fiscal Oversight Committee, Vice-Chairman
- Seniors, Families and Children Committee, Vice-Chairman
- Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2022
See also: Missouri State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for Missouri State Senate District 18
Incumbent Cindy O'Laughlin defeated Ayanna Shivers in the general election for Missouri State Senate District 18 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Cindy O'Laughlin (R) | 75.8 | 42,989 |
 | Ayanna Shivers (D)  | 24.2 | 13,739 | |
| Total votes: 56,728 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Missouri State Senate District 18
Ayanna Shivers advanced from the Democratic primary for Missouri State Senate District 18 on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Ayanna Shivers | 100.0 | 3,850 |
| Total votes: 3,850 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Missouri State Senate District 18
Incumbent Cindy O'Laughlin advanced from the Republican primary for Missouri State Senate District 18 on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Cindy O'Laughlin | 100.0 | 19,720 |
| Total votes: 19,720 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2018
- See also: Missouri State Senate elections, 2018
General election
Cindy O'Laughlin defeated Crystal Stephens in the general election for Missouri State Senate District 18 on November 6, 2018.
General election
General election for Missouri State Senate District 18
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Cindy O'Laughlin (R) | 70.3 | 46,263 |
| Crystal Stephens (D) | 29.7 | 19,555 | ||
| Total votes: 65,818 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Crystal Stephens advanced from the Democratic primary for Missouri State Senate District 18 on August 7, 2018.
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Missouri State Senate District 18
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Crystal Stephens | 100.0 | 9,733 | |
| Total votes: 9,733 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Cindy O'Laughlin defeated Craig Redmon, Nate Walker, and Lindell Shumake in the Republican primary for Missouri State Senate District 18 on August 7, 2018.
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Missouri State Senate District 18
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Cindy O'Laughlin | 36.7 | 9,893 |
 | Craig Redmon | 26.8 | 7,236 | |
 | Nate Walker | 19.8 | 5,340 | |
 | Lindell Shumake | 16.7 | 4,489 | |
| Total votes: 26,958 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Cindy O'Laughlin did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
- See also: Ballotpedia's candidate surveys
Cindy O'Laughlin participated in Ballotpedia's candidate survey on August 23, 2018. The survey questions appear in bold, and Cindy O'Laughlin's responses follow below.[8]
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
| “ | First of all, and most importantly, I want to find ways to develop our state’s workforce. There are jobs left empty because there are people without the skills to fill them. There is an overabundance of college degrees and a shortage of skilled labor and trade. Our government has pushed kids to go to college, but nowadays, it is the trades and vocational training where the most available, well-paying jobs are. I believe in strengthening our workforce through increased skilled and vocational training. Hand-in-hand with that, we must address the issue of entitlements. Certain welfare programs almost encourage folks to either seek low paying jobs or remain unemployed in order to retain government benefits. We need to make sure these programs encourage people to return to work and get full-time jobs. The success of welfare should be measured in the number of people who get off it, not the number of people who are enrolled. Finally, I am a huge supporter of public education and our rural schools. Education is one of the greatest opportunities we can invest in for the future of our state, but that means we need to make smart investments. I’m opposed to common core, by any name, in the classroom. We have some brilliant teachers, staff, and school boards who know a lot more about what the curriculum should be and how to educate our children then a government bureaucrat does. I want to return power of education to a local level and to protect our public schools.[9][10] | ” |
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Why?
| “ | I am running because I was inspired by Donald Trump’s take on making government work like a business. I didn’t see that type of effort coming from the state representatives in the race. I see a need for economic expansion in Northeast Missouri—opportunities for our families to remain in the area. Our small towns and counties face an uphill battle. We need to change that trajectory if we are to achieve progress. I am not going to the capitol to make friends, but to fight for our conservative values and principles and then come back home. As a Christian wife, mother, and grandmother, I think we need someone fighting for our traditional values in office. I am a passionate defender of our God-given and constitutional rights—the right to bear arms, the right to life, religious liberty and property rights. I hope to address the issue of eminent domain and to strengthen the property rights of farmers and landowners if elected.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many[10]
|
” |
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Missouri scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2024, the Missouri State Legislature was in session from January 3 to May 17.
|
2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2023, the Missouri State Legislature was in session from January 4 to May 12.
|
2022
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2022, the Missouri State Legislature was in session from January 5 to May 13.
|
2021
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2021, the Missouri State Legislature was in session from January 6 to May 14.
|
2020
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2020, the Missouri State Legislature was in session from January 8 to May 15. A special session was held from July 27 to September 16. A veto session convened on September 16. A second special session convened on November 5.
|
2019
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2019, the Missouri General Assembly was in session from January 9 through May 30
|
See also
2022 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Missouri State Senate District 18 |
Officeholder Missouri State Senate District 18 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Missouri Independent, "Missouri Senate Republicans pick Rowden, O’Laughlin for leadership in 2023," November 10, 2022
- ↑ Missouri State Senate, "Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin Named Senate Majority Floor Leader for 102nd General Assembly," November 10, 2022
- ↑ Morgan County Press, "Missouri Makes History with First Woman Senate President Pro Tem and First Asian-American House Speaker," January 9, 2025
- ↑ Missouri State Senate, "Senator Cindy O'Laughlin," accessed September 18, 2024
- ↑ Missouri Independent, "Missouri Senate conservative caucus disbands after two years of ugly GOP infighting," August 15, 2022
- ↑ St. Louis Public Radio, "Missouri Senate Majority Leader O’Laughlin navigates a session filled with rancor," March 11, 2024
- ↑ Missouri Senate, "Senator Cindy O'Laughlin," accessed March 28, 2023
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "Cindy O'Laughlin's responses," August 23, 2018
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Missouri State Senate District 18 2019-Present |
Succeeded by - |
