Missouri State Senate District 24 candidate surveys, 2022

Elections in Missouri, 2022

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This article shows responses from candidates in the 2022 election for Missouri State Senate District 24 who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey.

• Click here to see candidates and election results.
• Click here to see Candidate Connection survey responses.

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for Missouri State Senate District 24

Tracy McCreery defeated George Hruza and LaDonna Higgins in the general election for Missouri State Senate District 24 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Tracy McCreery (D)	53.4	43,081
		George Hruza (R)	44.8	36,164
		LaDonna Higgins (L)	1.8	1,481

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 80,726
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

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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.

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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?

George Hruza (R)

Driven by government spending, gas and groceries are at historic highs hurting our families. To attract new businesses and help those struggling he will work to improve the state’s business environment by opposing higher job killing taxes, reduce government spending by targeting and eliminating special interest pork barrel spending and cut burdensome and unfair government red tape and regulations. By reducing the cost of services to Missourians and creating a strong business environment, we can better survive the current national economic challenges.

Crime is on the rise in our region. Defunding police won’t create better policing any more than defunding teachers would improve education. We need to increase funding for police training and recruiting. George will work to put those who prey on our children and the elderly behind bars. He believes that in a rush to give criminals rights we have voided victims’ rights and that balance must be restored.

George supports reforming our education system to better prepare students for the workplace rather than only preparing them for the next test. He will expand workforce development to help train and retrain people in high-demand industries. He supports a Parents’ Bill of Rights that will require schools to promote transparency and parental involvement in their child’s education along with robust school choice so that parents can have their children educated in the setting that is most appropriate for them.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

George Hruza (R)

As a dermatologic surgeon at Washington University for a decade and subsequently in private practice in Town and Country and Chesterfield, I have been privileged to take care of thousands of patients with difficult skin cancers, making a positive impact in their lives. Now is the time to expand my reach to help many more people by serving in the Missouri Senate. I have seen firsthand the heavy-handed tactics insurers and our own government have exercised to interfere in the physician-patient relationship. Medical decisions belong between the patient and their physician. I am going to Jefferson City to fight for patient access to the physician of their choice, for transparency in healthcare, and patient safety.

I grew up in a totalitarian state with an educational system permeated by government mandated orthodoxy, indoctrination, conformity, and constant fear of retribution. A huge strength of the U.S. is freedom of speech, freedom of expression, individual liberty, diversity, and vigorous debate. I want to make sure that our educational system stays true to those ideals through transparency and robust school choice.

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

George Hruza (R)

Ronald Reagan, with his leadership he reduced government regulation and flattened the tax code, unleashing the entrepreneurial spirit resulting in a booming economy and unprecedented job creation. Personally, I look up to his fortitude dealing with the Soviet Union ("Evil Empire"), leading to its collapse and freeing my native Czechoslovakia from behind the Iron Curtain. His optimism and belief in the good of the individual is something I want to emulate and bring with me to the legislature to serve the residents of Missouri to improve their opportunity as they chase the American dream.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

George Hruza (R)

I am a proven leader in organized medicine and at two universities able to work toward a productive consensus on many issues by fully engaging with the team, hearing out their concerns and working toward a win-win solution. Getting physicians on the same page is often like herding cats. I have found myslf up to the task and look forward toward applying my skills to the legislature.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

George Hruza (R)

The 2nd Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia occurred in 1968. I was twelve years old. We escaped from Communist Czechoslovakia arriving in the U.S. with a suitcase and hope for a better life free of repression, terror, privation, censorship, and indoctrination. The U.S. delivered in spades, my parents had successful careers as physicians, my sister and myself became physicians as well. I ultimately rose to the Presidency of the American Academy of Dermatology, Missouri State Medical Association and St. Louis Metropolitan Medical Society. Such success is only possible to achieve in one country in the world - the United States.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

George Hruza (R)

Some tension between the governor and the legislature is inevitable and healthy. The legislators represent a small part of a state, while the governor represents the entire state. He can help the legislature to consider the good of the entire state and put some of the parochial issues of individual legislators in perspective.

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

George Hruza (R)

Economic stagnation, low population growth. We need to reinvigorate our economy through lowering of the tax and regulatory burden on our businesses and educating our workforce for the jobs of today and tomorrow. Elimination of the state income tax could lead to an economic boom with people moving to Missouri as has happened in Tennessee that eliminated their state income tax on Jan 1, 2021 and has seen an economic renaissance.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

George Hruza (R)

Definitely. Our current polarized political environment is a huge impediment for sensible change to improve the functioning of our society and individual opportunity. We need to come together and be willing to make reasonable compromises.

See also

More about these elections:

• Missouri State Senate elections, 2022

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