Mike Kehoe

Mike Kehoe (Republican Party) is the Governor of Missouri. He assumed office on January 13, 2025. His current term ends on January 8, 2029.

Kehoe served as Missouri's Lieutenant Governor from 2018 to 2025. He was also a member of the Missouri State Senate from 2011 to 2018 and served as Senate Majority Leader from 2015 to 2018.

Kehoe was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1962, the youngest of six children, and raised by his single-parent mother.^[1]^[2] Kehoe attended a catholic college preparatory school but did not receive a college degree and began working in a Ford dealership while still in high school. He became a sales manager at the dealership in his early twenties, and took over Osage Industries, an ambulance manufacturer, in 1987. Kehoe sold Osage Industries in 1992 and bought a series of car dealerships which he owned and operated until 2011.^[3]^[4] Kehoe and his wife also own and operate a 700-acre cattle farm in central Missouri.^[2]

In 2005, Kehoe entered politics and public administration for the first time when then Gov. Matt Blunt (R) appointed him to serve on the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission. He first ran for office in 2010 when he defeated three candidates in the Republican primary and ran unopposed in the general election for State Senate District 6. He won re-election to that seat in 2014, running unopposed in the Republican primary and defeating a Democratic challenger in the general election 79.1% to 20.9%. Kehoe served as majority leader of the chamber from 2015 to 2018. While serving in that position, Kehoe called on then Gov. Eric Greitens (R) to resign amid allegations of misconduct, becoming the highest ranking member of the legislature to do so.^[5]

On June 18, 2018, Gov. Mike Parsons (R) appointed Kehoe to become the state's lieutenant governor after Greitens resigned and Parsons was elevated to the position of governor.^[6] The Missouri Supreme Court upheld Kehoe's appointment as lieutenant governor in a 5-2 decision, finding that though state law prevented governors from appointing a lieutenant governor, it is within the governor’s constitutional authority because state law does not provide any other means of filling a lieutenant gubernatorial vacancy.^[7] Kehoe then won election to remain in the position in 2020, advancing from the Republican primary with 59.4% of the vote, and defeating Alissia Canady (D) 58.4%-38.8% in the general election. During the campaign, Kehoe highlighted his experience in business and in the legislature, including a package of tax cuts adopted while he was in the senate.^[8]

On March 22, 2021, Kehoe announced he would run for governor in 2024.^[9] Gov. Mike Parsons was term limited and could not seek re-election. In his campaign announcement, Kehoe said, "I will continue to use my years of job-creating business experience, what I have learned on the farm, in leading for conservative views and values in the state Senate, and now as lieutenant governor to increase opportunity, freedom, and security for all Missourians."^[9] Kehoe was one of nine candidates in the Republican primary and said that he would support policies that would create more jobs, expand workforce development, support seniors and veterans, and improve education.^[10] Kehoe received 39.4% of the vote in the primary, securing the nomination. In the general election, Kehoe received the endorsement of then former president Donald Trump (R) and defeated Crystal Quade (D), a member of the state legislature, 59.1%-38.7%.^[11] Kehoe's vote share was the largest for a gubernatorial candidate in Missouri since 1988.

In his 2025 state of the state address, Kehoe focused his address on public safety, saying, "Any efforts we may make to improve the lives of Missourians–whether it be education opportunities, cutting taxes, or expanding childcare–none of it matters if Missourians aren’t safe. Securing Missouri’s future begins with public safety."^[12] He went on to highlight policies and plans related to economic development, agriculture, education, and changes to state government.^[12] Read the full transcript of his speech here.

Biography

Mike Kehoe was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and lives in Missouri. Kehoe's professional experience includes working as an owner and operator of Ford and Lincoln-Mercury franchises, manager at Osage Industries, and sales manager at Dave Sinclair Ford. He also worked as a farmer. In 2005, Kehoe was appointed by Governor Matt Blunt (R) to serve on the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission.^[13]

Political career

Below is a list of offices within Ballotpedia’s scope. Offices outside of that scope will not be listed. If an update is needed and the office is within our scope, please contact us.

Kehoe's political career includes the following offices:

2025-present: Governor of Missouri
2018-2025: Lieutenant Governor of Missouri
2011-2018: Missouri State Senate District 6

2024 battleground election

See also: Missouri gubernatorial election, 2024 (August 6 Republican primary)

Ballotpedia identified the August 6, 2024, Republican primary as a battleground race. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here. Mike Kehoe (R) won the Republican primary for Missouri's gubernatorial election on August 6, 2024. Click here for detailed results.

Nine candidates ran in the Republican primary election for governor of Missouri on August 6, 2024. Jay Ashcroft (R), Bill Eigel (R), and Mike Kehoe (R) led in polling and media attention. Inc. Gov. Mike Parson (R) was not able to file for re-election due to term limits.

Ashcroft, Eigel, and Kehoe participated in a February candidate forum. According to St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosen, "The verbal blows onstage reflect a new reality for a party that’s been dominant in state elections for nearly eight years. Republicans now face noticeable factionalism in their legislative supermajority and on the campaign trail."^[14] Rosen said that while Kehoe avoided directly criticizing the other candidates, Eigel criticized both Kehoe and Ashcroft, saying, "Don't be afraid of the message that we can't take our state back because I don't have enough lobbyist money or I don't have the right last name from my dad," referring to Ashcroft, who is the son of Frmr. Gov. John Ashcroft. Ashcroft responded by saying, "Are we going to pick words, or we're going to pick actions?"^[14]

Ashcroft was the Missouri Secretary of State. Ashcroft said his engineering background helped him be results-driven. Ashcroft said, "It takes a different kind of thinking to lead the way out. I’m an engineer, and engineers fix problems. We focus on results." Ashcroft said he would reduce government spending, eliminate gas and income taxes, increase law enforcement funding, and keep obscene materials out of public libraries.^[15]^[16]^[17]

Eigel was a state senator from Missouri’s 23rd District. Eigel said, "I happen to believe that one of the biggest problems that we have here in Missouri [is] all of those so-called Republicans - folks who campaign as Republicans and govern as Democrats. I’ve got news for these campaign conservatives who have betrayed us: your grift is coming to an end."^[18] Eigel said he would require election authorities to manually count ballots instead of using machines, eliminate personal property and corporate taxes, and disallow programs he described as "woke" from being taught in public schools.^[19]

Kehoe was the lieutenant governor of Missouri. Kehoe said, "Making our communities safer, controlling spending, running the state like a business, creating jobs, and securing the future for Missouri by fighting for our shared family values - [that] is why I am running for governor."^[20] Kehoe said he supported policies that would create more jobs, expand workforce development, support seniors and veterans, and improve education.^[21]

Over 20 unions and organizations endorsed Kehoe, including the Fire Fighter Association of Missouri, Missouri Agribusiness Association, and the Missouri Farm Bureau.^[22] The Missouri Right to Life PAC endorsed Ashcroft, and the Make Liberty Win PAC endorsed Eigel.^[23]^[24]

As of August 6, 2024, The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales, and Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball rated the Missouri gubernatorial election as a safe or solid Republican seat.

Darren Grant (R), Jeremy Gundel (R), Darrell Leon McClanahan III (R), Robert Olson (R), Amber Thomsen (R), and Chris Wright (R) also ran in the Republican primary.

Elections

2024

General election

General election for Governor of Missouri

Mike Kehoe defeated Crystal Quade, Bill Slantz, Paul Lehmann, and Theodis Brown Sr. in the general election for Governor of Missouri on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mike Kehoe (R)	59.1	1,750,802
		Crystal Quade (D)	38.7	1,146,173
		Bill Slantz (L)	1.4	40,908
	Submit photo	Paul Lehmann (G)	0.8	22,359
		Theodis Brown Sr. (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	24

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,960,266
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Larry Flenoid II (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Governor of Missouri

Crystal Quade defeated Mike Hamra, Eric Morrison, Sheryl Gladney, and Hollis Laster in the Democratic primary for Governor of Missouri on August 6, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Crystal Quade	50.2	190,228
	Mike Hamra	31.7	119,901
	Eric Morrison	9.8	37,084
	Sheryl Gladney	6.7	25,370
	Hollis Laster	1.6	5,990

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 378,573
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Sarah Unsicker (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Governor of Missouri

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for Governor of Missouri on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mike Kehoe	39.4	275,139
		Bill Eigel	32.5	227,257
		Jay Ashcroft	23.2	162,314
		Amber Thomsen	1.5	10,653
		Chris Wright	1.3	9,376
		Darrell Leon McClanahan III	0.8	5,656
	Submit photo	Robert Olson	0.4	2,985
	Submit photo	Jeremy Gundel	0.4	2,951
	Submit photo	Darren Grant	0.3	1,871

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 698,202
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Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for Governor of Missouri

Bill Slantz advanced from the Libertarian primary for Governor of Missouri on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bill Slantz	100.0	2,419

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,419
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Endorsements

Kehoe received the following endorsements.

Gov. Mike Parson (R)
Frmr. Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell
Frmr. Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe (R)
Former President Donald Trump (R)
Missouri Cattlemen's Association
Missouri Corn Growers Association
Missouri State Council of Fire Fighters
American Council Of Engineering Companies (ACEC/PAC)
Associated Builders And Contractors, Inc. Political Action Committee (ABC PAC)
Associated General Contractors of America Political Action Committee
Fire Fighter Association of Missouri
Flagship Council PAC
Heavy Constructors of Greater Kansas City
Missouri Agribusiness Association
Missouri Asphalt Pavement Association
Missouri Automobile Dealers Association
Missouri Chamber of Commerce
Missouri Dairy
Missouri Farm Bureau
Missouri Forest Products Association
Missouri Fraternal Order of Police
Missouri Limestone Producers Association
Missouri Soybean Association
Missouri State Troopers Association
National Troopers Coalition
SITE Improvement Association
Vivek Ramaswamy (R) -

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

Polls are conducted with a variety of methodologies and have margins of error or credibility intervals.^[25] The Pew Research Center wrote, "A margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points at the 95% confidence level means that if we fielded the same survey 100 times, we would expect the result to be within 3 percentage points of the true population value 95 of those times."^[26] For tips on reading polls from FiveThirtyEight, click here. For tips from Pew, click here.

Below we provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics, when available. Click here to read about FiveThirtyEight's criteria for including polls in its aggregation. We only report polls for which we can find a margin of error or credibility interval.

Missouri gubernatorial election, 2024, Republican primary election polls
Poll	Date	Ashcroft	Eigel	Grant	Grundel	Kehoe	Olson	Thomsen	Wright	Undecided/Other	Margin of error	Sample size^[27]	Sponsor^[28]
The Tyson Group	April 23-26, 2024	36%	3%	2%	1%	11%	2%	3%	1%	40%	± 4.3	504	Building America's Future
YouGov	Feb. 14-26, 2024	28%	8%	—	—	10%	—	—	3%	50%	± 5.4	414	Saint Louis University
ARW Strategies	Feb. 5-7, 2024	36%	13%	—	—	13%	—	—	—	48%	± 3.96	611	N/A
Show Me Victories	Oct. 26-31, 2023	18%	6%	—	—	19%	—	—	—	49%	± 4.9	407	N/A
Remington Research Group	Sept. 27-28, 2024	32%	5%	—	—	15%	—	—	—	48%	± 3.4	714	Missouri Scout

Campaign finance

Satellite spending

See also: Satellite spending

Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.^[29]^[30]

If available, satellite spending reports by the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and OpenSecrets.org are linked below. FEC links include totals from monthly, quarterly, and semi-annual reports. OpenSecrets.org compiles data from those reports as well as 24- and 48-hour reports from the FEC.^[31]

Details about satellite spending of significant amounts and/or reported by media are included below those links. The amounts listed may not represent the total satellite spending in the election. To notify us of additional satellite spending, email us.