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John Kiehne

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John Kiehne
Image of John Kiehne

Candidate, Missouri House of Representatives District 88

Elections and appointments
Next election

November 3, 2026

Education

High school

Francis Howell High School

Personal
Birthplace
St. Charles, Mo.
Profession
Musician
Contact

John Kiehne (independent) is running for election to the U.S. House to represent Missouri's 2nd Congressional District. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.[source]

Kiehne is also running for election to the Missouri House of Representatives to represent District 88. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.[source]

Biography

John Kiehne was born in St. Charles, Missouri. He earned a high school diploma from Francis Howell High School. Kiehne's career experience includes working as a musician.[1][2]Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name cannot be a simple integer. Use a descriptive title

As of 2024, Kiehne was affiliated with the following organizations:Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name cannot be a simple integer. Use a descriptive title

  • Democratic Township Committeeman for Meramec Township in St. Louis County
  • 88th Legislative District Democratic Committee, chair
  • Senate District 26 Democratic Committee, chair
  • Missouri's 26th Senate District on the Missouri Democratic Party's State Committee, committeeman

Elections

2026

See also: Missouri's 2nd Congressional District election, 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 U.S. House Missouri District 2

Incumbent Ann Wagner, Timothy Bilash, Chuck Summers, Ryan Sheridan, and John Kiehne are running in the general election for U.S. House Missouri District 2 on November 3, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Ann Wagner
Ann Wagner (R)
Image of Timothy Bilash
Timothy Bilash (D)
Image of Chuck Summers
Chuck Summers (D)
Image of Ryan Sheridan
Ryan Sheridan (R) Candidate Connection
Image of John Kiehne
John Kiehne (Independent)

Candidate Connection = 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.

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 88

John Kiehne is running in the general election for Missouri House of Representatives District 88 on November 3, 2026.

Candidate
Image of John Kiehne
John Kiehne (Independent)

Candidate Connection = 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

Missouri State House

See also: Missouri House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election
General election for Missouri House of Representatives District 88

Incumbent Holly Jones defeated John Kiehne in the general election for Missouri House of Representatives District 88 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Holly Jones
Holly Jones (R)
 
59.9
 
12,960
Image of John Kiehne
John Kiehne (D) Candidate Connection
 
40.1
 
8,674

Total votes: 21,634
Candidate Connection = 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.

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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Missouri House of Representatives District 88

Kyle Luzynski advanced from the Democratic primary for Missouri House of Representatives District 88 on August 6, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Kyle Luzynski
 
100.0
 
2,165

Total votes: 2,165
Candidate Connection = 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.

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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Missouri House of Representatives District 88

Incumbent Holly Jones advanced from the Republican primary for Missouri House of Representatives District 88 on August 6, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Holly Jones
Holly Jones
 
100.0
 
3,880

Total votes: 3,880
Candidate Connection = 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.

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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Kiehne in this election.

U.S. House

See also: Missouri's 2nd Congressional District election, 2024

Missouri's 2nd Congressional District election, 2024 (August 6 Republican primary)

Missouri's 2nd Congressional District election, 2024 (August 6 Democratic primary)

General election
General election for U.S. House Missouri District 2

Incumbent Ann Wagner defeated Ray Hartmann, Brandon Daugherty, and Shelby Davis in the general election for U.S. House Missouri District 2 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Ann Wagner
Ann Wagner (R)
 
54.5
 
233,444
Image of Ray Hartmann
Ray Hartmann (D)
 
42.5
 
182,056
Image of Brandon Daugherty
Brandon Daugherty (L) Candidate Connection
 
2.1
 
8,951
Image of Shelby Davis
Shelby Davis (G)
 
0.9
 
3,941

Total votes: 428,392
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Missouri District 2

Ray Hartmann defeated Chuck Summers in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Missouri District 2 on August 6, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Ray Hartmann
Ray Hartmann
 
77.7
 
42,605
Image of Chuck Summers
Chuck Summers
 
22.3
 
12,200

Total votes: 54,805
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Missouri District 2

Incumbent Ann Wagner defeated Peter Pfeifer in the Republican primary for U.S. House Missouri District 2 on August 6, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Ann Wagner
Ann Wagner
 
64.8
 
56,865
Image of Peter Pfeifer
Peter Pfeifer Candidate Connection
 
35.2
 
30,847

Total votes: 87,712
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Libertarian primary election
Libertarian primary for U.S. House Missouri District 2

Brandon Daugherty advanced from the Libertarian primary for U.S. House Missouri District 2 on August 6, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Brandon Daugherty
Brandon Daugherty Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
311

Total votes: 311
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Kiehne in this election.

2022

See also: Missouri State Senate elections, 2022

General election

General election for Missouri State Senate District 26

Ben Brown defeated John Kiehne in the general election for Missouri State Senate District 26 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Ben Brown
Ben Brown (R) Candidate Connection
 
73.9
 
48,469
Image of John Kiehne
John Kiehne (D) Candidate Connection
 
26.1
 
17,115

Total votes: 65,584
Candidate Connection = 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.

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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Missouri State Senate District 26

John Kiehne advanced from the Democratic primary for Missouri State Senate District 26 on August 2, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of John Kiehne
John Kiehne Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
5,720

Total votes: 5,720
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Missouri State Senate District 26

Ben Brown defeated Bob Jones, Nate Tate, Merry-Noella Skaggs, and Jason Franklin in the Republican primary for Missouri State Senate District 26 on August 2, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Ben Brown
Ben Brown Candidate Connection
 
39.0
 
10,811
Bob Jones
 
27.9
 
7,735
Image of Nate Tate
Nate Tate
 
26.7
 
7,394
Image of Merry-Noella Skaggs
Merry-Noella Skaggs Candidate Connection
 
3.8
 
1,041
Jason Franklin
 
2.7
 
742

Total votes: 27,723
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Endorsements

To view Kiehne's endorsements in the 2022 election, please click here.

2020

See also: Missouri House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Missouri House of Representatives District 110

Incumbent Dottie Bailey defeated John Kiehne in the general election for Missouri House of Representatives District 110 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Dottie Bailey
Dottie Bailey (R)
 
65.3
 
14,227
Image of John Kiehne
John Kiehne (D)
 
34.7
 
7,553

Total votes: 21,780
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Missouri House of Representatives District 110

John Kiehne advanced from the Democratic primary for Missouri House of Representatives District 110 on August 4, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of John Kiehne
John Kiehne
 
100.0
 
3,585

Total votes: 3,585
Candidate Connection = 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.

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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Missouri House of Representatives District 110

Incumbent Dottie Bailey advanced from the Republican primary for Missouri House of Representatives District 110 on August 4, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Dottie Bailey
Dottie Bailey
 
100.0
 
3,376

Total votes: 3,376
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2018

Missouri State Senate election

See also: Missouri State Senate elections, 2018

General election

General election for Missouri State Senate District 26

Incumbent Dave Schatz defeated John Kiehne in the general election for Missouri State Senate District 26 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Dave Schatz
Dave Schatz (R)
 
63.9
 
53,507
Image of John Kiehne
John Kiehne (D)
 
36.1
 
30,237

Total votes: 83,744
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Missouri State Senate District 26

Incumbent Dave Schatz and John Kiehne advanced from the primary for Missouri State Senate District 26 on August 7, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Dave Schatz
Dave Schatz (R)
 
64.2
 
24,962
Image of John Kiehne
John Kiehne (D)
 
35.8
 
13,922

Total votes: 38,884
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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U.S. House election

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Missouri, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Missouri District 3

Incumbent Blaine Luetkemeyer defeated Katy Geppert and Donald Stolle in the general election for U.S. House Missouri District 3 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Blaine Luetkemeyer
Blaine Luetkemeyer (R)
 
65.1
 
211,243
Image of Katy Geppert
Katy Geppert (D) Candidate Connection
 
32.8
 
106,589
Donald Stolle (L)
 
2.1
 
6,776

Total votes: 324,608
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Missouri District 3

Katy Geppert advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Missouri District 3 on August 7, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Katy Geppert
Katy Geppert Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
55,815

Total votes: 55,815
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Missouri District 3

Incumbent Blaine Luetkemeyer defeated Chadwick Bicknell in the Republican primary for U.S. House Missouri District 3 on August 7, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Blaine Luetkemeyer
Blaine Luetkemeyer
 
79.9
 
95,385
Image of Chadwick Bicknell
Chadwick Bicknell
 
20.1
 
24,000

Total votes: 119,385
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for U.S. House Missouri District 3

Donald Stolle advanced from the Libertarian primary for U.S. House Missouri District 3 on August 7, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Donald Stolle
 
100.0
 
745

Total votes: 745
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

John Kiehne has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. Send a message to John Kiehne asking him to fill out the survey. If you are John Kiehne, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

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You can ask John Kiehne to fill out this survey by using the buttons below or emailing info@kiehneformissouri.com.

Twitter
Email

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

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

Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?

Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for.  More than 22,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.

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2024

Missouri State House

Candidate Connection

John Kiehne completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Kiehne's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

As a Democratic candidate for Missouri State Representative, I'm running for office so that I can fight for my family- and your family, too- in Missouri's General Assembly.

As a fifth-generation Missouri native I've seen my hometown of St. Charles grow from a rural bedroom community into a sprawling suburban region. I want to see our middle class prosper and grow while we work to build tight-knit communities- rural, urban, and suburban- that care about and support one another.

As a resident of Eureka, Mo. I live in a community that has evolved from a small working-class bedroom community in a mostly rural area just outside of St. Louis into a growing suburban community that honors the history and traditions of the community while also making space for new development.

I believe in- and strongly support- Democratic values such as making Healthcare affordable and available to every single U.S. citizen, creating jobs that pay a living wage or better, supporting the small businesses that make up over 99% of Missouri's businesses, defending Women's Reproductive Rights and access to Reproductive care, and ensuring Justice and Equality to minorities, LGBTQ individuals, the elderly, disabled, and infirm.

If elected I will honor Missouri's State Motto: Salus Populi Suprema Lex Esto- Let the Welfare of the People be the Supreme Law, and advocate for policies that improve the lives of the people in the 88th House District, the St. Louis region, and the state of Missouri.
  • We must work to make sure that every working Missourian has the opportunity to earn a living wage. A multifaceted approach to creating more jobs that pay a living wage in the state of Missouri must include supporting our small businesses and their efforts to grow and expand, supporting our public schools so that our workers of tomorrow have a strong academic foundation whether they choose to pursue post-secondary education, the trades, or pursue business as an entrepreneur. We must work to revitalize our struggling communities while building on our successes and expanding the prosperity in and around our more successful and affluent communities.
  • We must work to make sure that every Missouri resident has access to quality, affordable Healthcare. Every single resident of Missouri needs access to quality, affordable Healthcare, and affordability and access doesn't just affect the poor. While Biden Administration initiatives are helping to bring down the cost of medications, middle class families are still facing rising costs for Healthcare, not to mention challenges to access Healthcare in many parts of rural Missouri. In addition, while Missouri voters approved Medicaid Expansion for our state just a few years ago, many qualified Missouri residents are challenged to access those services as a result of poor governance and administration, and this must be remedied.
  • We must support, defend, and properly fund our public schools statewide as well as make sure that our teachers earn a respectable professional salary. As of 2024, nearly 30% of Missouri's public school districts are on 4-day weeks as a means to meet funding obligations, not as a means to better educate Missouri's children. While we're fortunate to be able to invest in making our Rockwood Schools one of the top school districts in Missouri, many rural districts lack sufficient local and state funding and they're suffering as a result, and we can and must do better.
One of my favorite current politicians is Cory Booker- U.S. Senator from New Jersey. I appreciate his dedication to his community, his state, and being devoted to serving his constituents as well as being actively involved in national and international issues as well. In addition, I really appreciate his approach to politics- which puts love, kindness, and consideration ahead of grievance, division, and political rhetoric. I'm also a fan of Barack Obama, who is one of the most skilled statesmen of the modern era, but many of my past heroes have been musicians who have transcended their situation and art to innovate and inspire as artists.
I'm committed to working to understand the issues that I would be legislating, as I understand how government policy has an effect on the residents of this state. Over the years as a provider and advocate I've been a part of many teams and efforts to work together and create solutions for children facing unfortunate challenges and I've seen the arc of identifying a challenge, trying to address a challenge, and the outcome of how that challenge was addressed. Qualities such as being prompt, showing up informed and prepared, and giving proper attention to the matters at hand are priorities to me as well as listening with an open mind and demonstrating empathy and understanding toward the subjects affected is very important as well.
I vaguely remember Nixon's resignation, the Vietnam War, and the moon landings, but I was very young and TV (and media) wasn't the thing that it is today.
McDonald's was my first *3* jobs. That was over 40 years ago, but I believe that I worked there for a few months each time as a teenager.
I have several, including Saul Alinsky's "Rules for Radicals"- which sits on my nightstand. Some other favorites are Lao Tzu's "Tao Te Ching," Stephen Covey's "7 Habits of Highly Successful People," Wallace Wattles' "The Science of Getting Rich," and Kenny Werner's "Effortless Mastery." I enjoy reading books that provide insights about how to be more healthy, productive, effective, and prosperous.
As a professional musician for 40+ years I'm very aware of the challenges of being a business owner or self-employed while pursuing one's passion. Small businesses make up over 99% of Missouri's businesses and businesses with under 20 employees make up about half of those businesses. Accessing Healthcare, developing, growing and maintaining a customer base, and navigating changes in my industry have been particularly challenging in my line of work. In addition, acting as a foster provider for victims of abuse and neglect has been extremely challenging. It's often extremely difficult to identify and access resources for at-risk individuals in the state of Missouri, and unfortunately it's often the most vulnerable people who suffer the most.
I believe that it can be very helpful to have previously served- but not a necessity. I believe that having a variety of backgrounds represented in our legislature provides the best opportunity for the widest number of points of view to be considered when crafting legislation. Unfortunately, in light of Missouri's strict term limits for state legislators, our most effective legislators too often are forced to move on just as they have developed the network and skills to become truly effective legislators. Might I add, people get into politics for different reasons at different times in their lives. The amount of time necessary to serve in the Missouri Legislature (and likely be away from one's home) versus the financial need to cover household costs also limits the participation of people who might have the potential to be high quality public servants but whose career or family obligations might make serving as a state legislator difficult or impossible.
Absolutely! In order to have one's legislation be heard, debated, and possibly passed it requires the support of a majority of legislators. As a potential Democratic legislator in a body where Republican legislators hold a supermajority, it's a must to nurture relationships with "the other side of the aisle" in order to get the opportunity to actively participate in the legislative process.
I very much appreciate legislators who go to our State Capitol to fight for legislation that benefits as many of our 6.1 million Missouri residents as possible. While local issues may differ in some ways, we all benefit from having better schools, safer roads and bridges, access to broadband internet, access to quality, affordable Healthcare, effective policing, equal Justice, etc. I appreciate the work that I've seen from Missouri legislators like Rep. Deb Lavender, Rep. Peter Merideth, Rep. Crystal Quade, and from noted Congressional leaders past and present who have fought to make their communities, Districts, states, and country more healthy, safe, secure, just, and prosperous.
Quite honestly, over the last 7 years I've not only heard many touching stories, but seen people who have overcome challenges while others who have succumbed to challenges for lack of support or resources. In my experience many, many people regardless of age, wealth, partisan preference, or whathaveyou have encountered healthcare-related challenges that can too often be difficult to overcome. I believe that by working to make quality, affordable Healthcare available every Missouri resident will benefit at some point in their lives.
What do you call a bear without teeth? A gummy bear...
I believe that the State Legislature should have some say in the use of emergency powers as a check and balance to the power of the Executive Branch. I would also hope that our State Legislature would use these powers to help make our state better able address potential crises, and not as a means to politicize and harm our ability to swiftly and effectively respond to crises.
Some of my priorities include guaranteeing that people with pre-existing conditions are able to access Healthcare, working to fully fund our public schools statewide and pay our teachers a competitive salary regardless of their location, address the falling revenues that are making a negative impact on how we fund our state government, developing and supporting efforts to revitalize our struggling rural communities, protecting and supporting our state's parks and conservation areas, addressing a number of Workers Right issues that affect not only members of labor unions, but employed workers in all industries, and revisiting the recently passed helmet law that has contributed to dozens of unnecessary injuries and deaths of motorcycle riders and passengers over the last few years among other issues. In 2024, Missouri's Republican-dominated General Assembly only passed a handful of non-budget bills while Missouri residents faced numerous challenges that could have been addressed by our state legislators. If elected, I will focus on not only sponsoring meaningful legislation, but on helping to move policies that will have positive impacts on as many Missouri residents as possible.
While I'm late to appear on the November ballot so I'm in the process of earning endorsements, in the past I've been endorsed by many local and national labor organizations including the AFL-CIO, MNEA, Greater St. Louis Labor Council, The Franklin Co. Labor Political Club, Rockwood Labor, many individual labor organizations from Ironworkers to Operators to Elevator Engineers, Service Employees, Communications Workers, Bricklayers, etc. etc. Also, I've had the support of organizations such as Moms Demand Action, Sierra Club, Planned Parenthood, School Administrators, etc. and I'm currently in the process of informing them that I've taken over this race for the General Election in 2024.

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.

U.S. House

Candidate Connection

John Kiehne completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Kiehne's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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I'm particularly passionate about Education, Small Business, and Rural Issues. My parents and many members of my extended family have been public school teachers, I've been a small businessman for over 40 years, and I grew up in what was a small bedroom community and for a number of years I have lived, worked, and organized in rural areas and our family owns a century farm in Southeast Missouri as well.
Honesty, integrity, ethics, an obligation to earnestly serve one's constituents' well-being, and a commitment to being as knowledgeable and curious about the subject matter being legislated are in my opinion key characteristics that define an effective elected official. Too often we see people who hold office not to serve their constituents, but to serve their own egos and the agenda of their political donors. I believe that our elected officials have an obligation to serve their constituents regardless of their party affiliation, income, or influence.
Members of Missouri's General Assembly have an obligation to not only serve and represent the constituents in their districts, but their actions and decisions also effect the entire state of Missouri and its interests. From providing constituent services to the residents in their Districts regarding issues of governance to voting on legislation that addresses Missouri's schools, workers, infrastructure, budget, Healthcare, Social Services, policing, business, agriculture, housing, Criminal and Civil law, conservation, and many other issues- members of our State Legislature have an obligation to be well-informed, organized, prompt, and present in all functions that define the role of a member of Missouri's General Assembly.
I would like to be remembered as someone who truly cared about his family, community, state, and country who always did his best to serve my community, state, and country with honesty, integrity, and a desire to improve people's lives through effective governance.
I believe that while we exist and serve in a partisan political system, at the end of the day legislators and state leadership need to collaborate in order to best serve the needs of the people. While we may differ on how to approach challenges, I believe that we should have a basic core understanding of how government serves the people as opposed to personal or political interests. "Salus populi suprema lex esto"- "Let the welfare of the people be the Supreme Law."
The vast majority of the state of Missouri consists of rural communities who have been struggling for decades while suburban areas that are near to larger municipalities have managed to survive and thrive. I believe that we will ALL benefit from not only serving the local interests of our more affluent communities but by also working to expand prosperity, opportunity, and security to neighboring communities who could benefit from revitalization efforts that accommodate a 21st century economy. We cannot continue to starve our public schools, turn our backs on struggling communities, and point fingers at communities that need support and resources in order to prosper. I believe that Missouri's State Government has the capacity to reinvent and revive our state to become a place where people not only feel welcome, but where people of all kinds and stripes want to move to and pursue a career, start a family, or start a business.
I'm most interested in serving on Elementary and Secondary Education, Rural Economic Development, Agriculture Policy, Children and Families, and Health and Mental Health Policy, Economic Development. As a long-time business owner issues regarding supporting small businesses in Missouri are particularly interesting to me, as a parent, former foster provider, legal guardian, and advocate issues regarding education and Healthcare are of interest to me, and as a former rural resident whose family owns a century farm in Missouri rural and agricultural issues interest me as well.
I believe that public servants- elected and otherwise- have an obligation to the residents of our state to be transparent regarding how and where taxpayer dollars are spent, how effective our public institutions are in executing their obligations, and we should always be mindful to be thrifty, efficient, effective in managing and funding our obligations.

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.

Note: Kiehne submitted the above survey responses to Ballotpedia on September 20, 2024.

2022

Candidate Connection

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

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John Kiehne is a 5th generation Missouri native that was born and raised in St. Charles, spent 10 years living in Boston, and returned to the St. Louis area in 2001. He now lives in Eureka, Mo. with his wife Michelle and their 2 young children. John has worked as a professional musician, producer, recording artist, and instructor for over 35 years and also spent the last 15 years raising, supporting, and advocating for victims of domestic violence and neglect as a foster provider, advocate, legal guardian, and adoptive parent. John's motivation for entering into the political realm is as a means to address the challenges that his family has faced regarding working with government agencies, Healthcare providers, social work agencies, skilled nursing and behavioral facilities, and protecting and nurturing victims of domestic violence and neglect. As someone whose parents and many members of his family are or were public school educators, John believes that we must support and improve our public schools and support our educators statewide. John’s family owns a Century Farm and has been farming in Missouri for over 130 years. John believes that we must support and rebuild our rural communities.
  • We must work to make sure that every working Missourian has the opportunity to earn a living wage.
  • We must work to make sure that every Missouri resident has access to quality, affordable Healthcare.
  • We must support, defend, and properly fund our public schools statewide as well as make sure that our teachers earn a respectable professional salary.
Education from childcare to post-secondary, General and Reproductive Healthcare, ensuring that there is Justice for ALL Missourians including women, minorities, and LGBTQ individuals, supporting and expanding Missouri's small businesses, repairing, maintaining, and improving our state's infrastructure, Worker's Right including the right to organize and collectively bargain, protecting our environment and holding polluters accountable, defending Missouri citizens' Right to Vote, addressing waste and dysfunction that is pervasive in our government departments, addressing the root causes of crime in order to make our communities safer, more peaceful, and more prosperous.
I have spent a lifetime successfully running a small business in a very challenging industry (the music business). As a performing musician I have performed all over the United States for over 3 decades as well as having lived in Boston, Massachusetts- a challenging city in which to be solvent and successful- for 10 years. Also, as an advocate, provider, and guardian I have devoted the last 15 years of my life to protecting women and children from violent domestic abusers and continue to do so today. My broad life experience as well as my long-term commitment to serving those in need are indicative of the commitment that I would demonstrate as a public servant if elected to be the next State Senator for Missouri's 26th Senate District.
I hope to inspire others to fight for the values that they hold dear- even when it's challenging, to conduct themselves based on honesty and integrity, and to always do our best to make the Welfare of the People our primary focus.

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.

2020

John Kiehne did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2018

Kiehne answered the question, "What is your political philosophy?" on Ballotpedia's biographical information submission form. Below is his response:

I'm running for office because I feel that my current representatives in our State Legislature do not represent the best interests of myself, my family or most residents of Missouri. If elected I will advocate for universal access to quality, affordable education, access to quality, affordable healthcare, nurturing clean energy industries and for a fair, living wage for all working people of Missouri. I want to advocate for our teachers and students who have had to face the unfortunate results of underfunding our schools. As a longtime foster parent and advocate I look forward to the opportunity to reform our foster care system and advocate for more programs to help address the needs of at-risk children and families. As a rural resident I will sponsor and support policies that will protect our family farmers and the land, air and water that we all depend on for life. I will also advocate to provide broadband internet access to our rural communities as well as more access to post-secondary education and technical training. I will support organized labor and reject attempts to break unions and cut pay and benefits for workers in Missouri. As a straight, white male with a black wife and both white and black children as well as LGBTQ friends and family members I will advocate for justice for ALL residents of Missouri and I will reject policies that seek to discriminate on the basis of gender, race, religion, ethnicity or sexual identity. I want to make Missouri a state that's welcoming to business and residents that welcomes a diverse array of industries and individuals to make our state stronger, healthier and more prosperous.[3]
—John Kiehne[2]

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.


John Kiehne campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2026* U.S. House Missouri District 2Candidacy Declared general$0 N/A**
2024* U.S. House Missouri District 2Withdrew primary$0 N/A**
2022Missouri State Senate District 26Lost general$22,353 $13,987
2020Missouri House of Representatives District 110Lost general$37,388 N/A**
2018Missouri State Senate District 26Lost general$18,751 N/A**
Grand total$78,492 $13,987
Sources: OpenSecretsFederal 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
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

See also


External links

Footnotes

  1. Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on August 23, 2023
  2. 2.0 2.1 Information submitted on Ballotpedia's biographical information submission form on May 9, 2018
  3. Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.


Senators
Representatives
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District 3
Bob Onder (R)
District 4
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Republican Party (8)
Democratic Party (2)