Jessie Shepherd

Jessie Shepherd

Democratic Party

Candidate, Missouri House of Representatives District 114

Elections and appointments

Next election

November 3, 2026

Education

High school

Hillsboro High School

Associate

St. Louis Community College, 2016

Personal

Profession

Advocacy

Contact

Personal Facebook

Personal Instagram

Jessie Shepherd (Democratic Party) is running for election to the Missouri House of Representatives to represent District 114. She declared candidacy for the 2026 election.^[source]

Biography

Jessie Shepherd earned a high school diploma from Hillsboro High School and an associate degree from St. Louis Community College in 2016. Her career experience includes working in advocacy.

Elections

2026

See also: Missouri House of Representatives elections, 2026

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for Missouri House of Representatives District 114

Jessie Shepherd and John Lee are running in the general election for Missouri House of Representatives District 114 on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Jessie Shepherd (D)
	Submit photo	John Lee (R)

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	There are no incumbents in this race.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.

2024

See also: Missouri House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Missouri House of Representatives District 114

Incumbent Ken Waller defeated Jessie Shepherd in the general election for Missouri House of Representatives District 114 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ken Waller (R)	70.0	13,374
		Jessie Shepherd (D)	30.0	5,738

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 19,112
= 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 House of Representatives District 114

Jessie Shepherd advanced from the Democratic primary for Missouri House of Representatives District 114 on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jessie Shepherd	100.0	1,502

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,502
= 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 House of Representatives District 114

Incumbent Ken Waller advanced from the Republican primary for Missouri House of Representatives District 114 on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ken Waller	100.0	3,853

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,853
= 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.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Shepherd in this election.

2022

See also: Missouri House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Missouri House of Representatives District 114

Ken Waller defeated Jessie Shepherd in the general election for Missouri House of Representatives District 114 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ken Waller (R)	67.4	8,545
		Jessie Shepherd (D)	32.6	4,136

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 12,681
= 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 House of Representatives District 114

Jessie Shepherd advanced from the Democratic primary for Missouri House of Representatives District 114 on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jessie Shepherd	100.0	1,533

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,533
= 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 House of Representatives District 114

Ken Waller defeated Ann Moloney in the Republican primary for Missouri House of Representatives District 114 on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ken Waller	55.8	2,606
	Submit photo	Ann Moloney	44.2	2,066

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,672
= 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

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Jessie Shepherd has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. If you are Jessie Shepherd, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

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2024

Jessie Shepherd did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2022

Jessie Shepherd completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Shepherd's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I'm running to be your next State Representative because I’m passionate about our community. I currently serve on the City of Herculaneum Park Board, the Jefferson County Democratic Central Committee and have volunteered with the League of Women Voters. My career experience in disability supports has taught me to listen to individuals to identify their needs, find solutions to challenges and eliminate barriers to living their best lives. I know these skills will translate well to constituent services. Beyond my current career, my diverse work experience includes food service, retail, warehouse labor and sales. This gives me a wide perspective on many different walks of life. As a third generation Jefferson Countian I am driven to make our county the best it can be. I truly believe we can make positive change by giving everyone a voice in our legislation. I care about listening to all our constituents and having meaningful conversations. That’s how we overcome challenges together, as a community.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Pro-Choice
• Pro-Union
• Pro-Education

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Advocacy and funding for Disability Services will always be near and dear to me as I have seen first hand the difference having access to these supports can make in the life of someone who has a disability. I also deeply care about improving work conditions for Missouri's public school teachers and, in turn, quality of education for Missouri's students. I am prochoice and believe the only people who should have a say in the healthcare a pregnant person receives should be that individual and their doctor. I will fiercely defend your right to bodily autonomy.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I have had so many positive influences in my life; if I had to choose just one it would be my late mother, Patricia Shepherd. She was an educator and taught English for several years. Even when she was a stay at home mom she was still a teacher in many respects, helping my sister and I excel in school and even tutoring/homeschooling one of my cousins while she was unable to attend public school for medical reasons. Once my sister and I were older she worked for Head Start as a home visitor. The pay was low but she didn't do it for the money, she did it because she cared about others. In fact, she spent most of her paycheck on classroom supplies to help children build the foundations of their educations. I am certain my drive to help my community grow and succeed comes from the example my mother set for me.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Fairness, diplomacy and empathy are characteristics important for a legislator to possess. Even when I am talking with someone I don't agree with I can often understand why a person holds the opinion they do. You don't have to agree with someone to understand them or where they are coming from.

What is your favorite book? Why?

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a classic coming of age story that addresses issues like discrimination, racism, injustice. It teaches an important lesson about the profound impact prejudice can have on a community.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Walk Like an Egyptian by The Bangles

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Most of the biggest challenges Missouri faces revolve around reversing the damage done by policies enacted by the Republican super majority over the last 20 years. Our state is 50th in education funding from the state level. This has led municipalities increasing property taxes in order to fund schools. Eased restrictions on gun laws have lead to Missouri having the fourth-highest rate of gun deaths in the United States. When the Republican legislature repealed the permit to purchase mandate we saw a 28% increase in gun deaths, a 23% increase in gun suicides and a 38% increase in stolen firearms. Missouri's state employees are so underpaid many departments are at near catastrophic staffing levels. Our federal government had to send assistance because wait times for Medicaid applications exceeded 100 days, over double the federal requirement. We had a $4.9 billion budget surplus for the 2022 fiscal year, yet our state programs are imploding with a quarter of Missouri school districts forced to drop to four days per week. We have certainly got our work cut out for us if we want to improve quality of life for Missourians. I am confident that I am the right person to come up with solutions to these challenges.

If you are not a current legislator, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

Given that I believe most of our State's programs are suffering from a lack of funding I would like to be on the Budget Committee. I would also like to be on the Health and Mental Health Policy Committee.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

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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.

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Jessie Shepherd campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Missouri House of Representatives District 114	Lost general	$10,518	$11,282
2022	Missouri House of Representatives District 114	Lost general	$14,982	$13,730
Grand total			$25,500	$25,012
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

See also

2026 Elections

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Footnotes

[show]

Current members of the Missouri House of Representatives

Leadership

Speaker of the House:Jon Patterson

Minority Leader:Ashley Aune

Representatives

District 1

Jeff Farnan (R)

District 2

Mazzie Christensen (R)

District 3

Danny Busick (R)

District 4

Greg Sharpe (R)

District 5

Louis Riggs (R)

District 6

Ed Lewis (R)

District 7

Peggy McGaugh (R)

District 8

Josh Hurlbert (R)

District 9

Dean VanSchoiack (R)

District 10

Bill Falkner (R)

District 11

Brenda Shields (R)

District 12

Mike Jones (R)

District 13

Sean Pouche (R)

District 14

Ashley Aune (D)

District 15

Kenneth Jamison (D)

District 16

Chris Brown (R)

District 17

Bill Allen (R)

District 18

Eric Woods (D)

District 19

Wick Thomas (D)

District 20

Mike Steinmeyer (R)

District 21

Will Jobe (D)

District 22

Yolanda Young (D)

District 23

Michael Johnson (D)

District 24

Emily Weber (D)

District 25

Patricia Mansur (D)

District 26

Tiffany Price (D)

District 27

Melissa Douglas (D)

District 28

Donna Barnes (D)

District 29

Aaron Crossley (D)

District 30

Jon Patterson (R)

District 31

Ron Fowler (R)

District 32

Jeff Coleman (R)

District 33

Carolyn Caton (R)

District 34

Kemp Strickler (D)

District 35

Keri Ingle (D)

District 36

Anthony Ealy (D)

District 37

Mark Sharp (D)

District 38

Martin Jacobs (D)

District 39

Mark Meirath (R)

District 40

Chad Perkins (R)

District 41

Doyle Justus (R)

District 42

Jeff Myers (R)

District 43

Kent Haden (R)

District 44

John Martin (R)

District 45

Mary Steinhoff (D)

District 46

David Smith (D)

District 47

Adrian Plank (D)

District 48

Tim Taylor (R)

District 49

Jim Schulte (R)

District 50

Gregg Bush (D)

District 51

Mark Nolte (R)

District 52

Bradley Pollitt (R)

District 53

Terry Thompson (R)

District 54

Brandon Phelps (R)

District 55

William Irwin (R)

District 56

Michael Davis (R)

District 57

Rodger Reedy (R)

District 58

Willard Haley (R)

District 59

Rudy Veit (R)

District 60

Dave Griffith (R)

District 61

Bruce Sassmann (R)

District 62

Sherri Gallick (R)

District 63

Tricia Byrnes (R)

District 64

Deanna Self (R)

District 65

Wendy Hausman (R)

District 66

Marlene Terry (D)

District 67

Tonya Rush (D)

District 68

Kem Smith (D)

District 69

Scott Miller (R)

District 70

Stephanie Boykin (D)

District 71

LaDonna Appelbaum (D)

District 72

Doug Clemens (D)

District 73

Raychel Proudie (D)

District 74

Marla Smith (D)

District 75

Chanel Mosley (D)

District 76

Marlon Anderson (D)

District 77

Kimberly-Ann Collins (D)

District 78

Marty Murray (D)

District 79

LaKeySha Bosley (D)

District 80

Elizabeth Fuchs (D)

District 81

Steve Butz (D)

District 82

Nick Kimble (D)

District 83

Raymond Reed (D)

District 84

Del Taylor (D)

District 85

Yolonda Fountain Henderson (D)

District 86

Jeff Hales (D)

District 87

Connie Steinmetz (D)

District 88

Holly Jones (R)

District 89

George Hruza (R)

District 90

Mark Boyko (D)

District 91

Jo Doll (D)

District 92

Michael Burton (D)

District 93

Bridget Moore (D)

District 94

Jim Murphy (R)

District 95

Vacant

District 96

Brad Christ (R)

District 97

David Casteel (R)

District 98

Jaclyn Zimmermann (D)

District 99

Ian Mackey (D)

District 100

Philip Oehlerking (R)

District 101

Ben Keathley (R)

District 102

Richard West (R)

District 103

Dave Hinman (R)

District 104

Terri Violet (R)

District 105

Colin Wellenkamp (R)

District 106

Travis Wilson (R)

District 107

Mark Matthiesen (R)

District 108

Mike Costlow (R)

District 109

John Simmons (R)

District 110

Justin Sparks (R)

District 111

Cecelie Williams (R)

District 112

Renee Reuter (R)

District 113

Phil Amato (R)

District 114

Vacant

District 115

Bill Lucas (R)

District 116

Dale Wright (R)

District 117

Becky Laubinger (R)

District 118

Mike McGirl (R)

District 119

Brad Banderman (R)

District 120

John Hewkin (R)

District 121

Bill Hardwick (R)

District 122

Tara Peters (R)

District 123

Jeff Vernetti (R)

District 124

Don Mayhew (R)

District 125

Dane Diehl (R)

District 126

Jim Kalberloh (R)

District 127

Ann Kelley (R)

District 128

Christopher Warwick (R)

District 129

John Black (R)

District 130

Bishop Davidson (R)

District 131

Bill Owen (R)

District 132

Jeremy Dean (D)

District 133

Melanie Stinnett (R)

District 134

Alex Riley (R)

District 135

Betsy Fogle (D)

District 136

Stephanie Hein (D)

District 137

Darin Chappell (R)

District 138

Burt Whaley (R)

District 139

Bob Titus (R)

District 140

Jamie Gragg (R)

District 141

Melissa Schmidt (R)

District 142

Jeff Knight (R)

District 143

Bennie Cook (R)

District 144

Tony Harbison (R)

District 145

Bryant Wolfin (R)

District 146

Barry Hovis (R)

District 147

John Voss (R)

District 148

David Dolan (R)

District 149

Donnie Brown (R)

District 150

Cameron Bunting Parker (R)

District 151

Steven Jordan (R)

District 152

Hardy Billington (R)

District 153

Keith Elliott (R)

District 154

Lisa Durnell (R)

District 155

Matthew Overcast (R)

District 156

Brian Seitz (R)

District 157

Mitch Boggs (R)

District 158

Scott Cupps (R)

District 159

Dirk Deaton (R)

District 160

Vacant

District 161

Lane Roberts (R)

District 162

Robert Bromley (R)

District 163

Cathy Loy (R)

Republican Party (108)

Democratic Party (52)

Vacancies (3)