Raymond James

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Raymond James

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Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

Associate

Central Texas College, 1985

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Army

Years of service

1980 - 2001

Personal

Birthplace

Dayton, Ohio

Religion

Catholic

Profession

Environmental specialist

Contact

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Raymond James (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Missouri State Senate to represent District 31. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

James completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Raymond James was born in Dayton, Ohio. He served in the United States Army from 1980 to 2001. He earned an associate degree from Central Texas College in 1985. James has experience working as an environmental specialist. He has been affiliated with VFW, American Legion, ACLU, and NAACP.

Elections

2024

See also: Missouri State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for Missouri State Senate District 31

Incumbent Rick Brattin defeated Raymond James in the general election for Missouri State Senate District 31 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rick Brattin (R)	68.5	60,541
	Submit photo	Raymond James (D)	31.5	27,825

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 88,366
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Missouri State Senate District 31

Raymond James advanced from the Democratic primary for Missouri State Senate District 31 on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Raymond James	100.0	6,044

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 6,044
= 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 31

Incumbent Rick Brattin defeated Mike Haffner and Dan Houx in the Republican primary for Missouri State Senate District 31 on August 6, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rick Brattin	47.0	11,034
	Submit photo	Mike Haffner	27.4	6,445
		Dan Houx	25.6	6,013

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 23,492
= 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 James in this election.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

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

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Retired US Amy Master Sergeant, Environmental Public Health Specialist, Volunteer Firefighter/ EMT, Eagle. A Grandfather that would have been happy supporting someone else but who felt I had a Duty when no one else ran. I see a trend of ignoring the rights of Citizens . The trend of inserting others religious beliefs into your private decisions.

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?

• ALL citizens are entitled to their Human Rights to Life , Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness . My Opponent seems to think some peoples rights extend to you. Example you don't like a book you put it back on the shelf you do not ban it so others cannot read it. Don't like gay marriage don't marry a gay.
• Women's Reproductive Health Care includes abortion care, IVF and Birth Control. Voting to defund clinics that provide birth control in a state with a total ban on abortion, including 10 year old rape victims, makes no sense. Difficult decisions should be made by those actually effected by that decision. She decides what she does with her body not the government.
• Public Education is what made our diverse nation of immigrants the envy of the world. We need to strengthen our schools and educate our youth to take their places in are multi cultural, multi religion society . I would like to increase our vocational educational system. Fully fund our schools to provide our teachers and staff with a wage that supports them and provides a good retirement.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Public Education and Health Care.

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

Jack Clark, SGM USA who served as the SGM of the Army Medical Department and before that my First Sergeant in HHC 142 Medical Battalion in Panama. He put his Soldiers First. Trained hard rather sweet in peacetime than bleed in war.

Congressman John Lewis for his personal sacrifices to achieve Civil Rights. Our world is a better place because of him.

Both lived to serve others. They did what they could, where they were , with what they had to make things better .

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

A Quote usually attributed to Theodore Roosevelt. Do what you can, with what you got, where you are to influence events to make things better.

The novel The Grapes of Wrath. The Scout Oath, Army NCO Creed and the US Constitution and Declaration of Independence.

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

Ability to listen and learn. Honesty, selfless service, doing the hard right rather than the easy wrong.

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

Ability to listen, learn and work hard. I have always been successful when working with diverse teams. I often give credit to others, it makes no difference who did what as long as the group succeeds.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

To insure all citizens rights to Life , Liberty and Pursuit of Happiness are upheld. To represent the interest of the citizens especially those who are minorities and lower income. To use tax funds for the benefit of the people not to waste them or use them for personnel gain.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Tried his best to leave things better than they were.

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

1966, 7 years old, I could see the fires from the burning buildings along Dayton Ohio's West Third Street from the top of a nearby hill. Watched the riot footage on the local news.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Horse Wrangler at Woodland Trails Boy Scout Camp Miami Valley District for 4 summers 1973-77. Prior to that I worked on my uncles' farm bailing hay every summer.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Grapes of Wrath

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Samwise Gamgee at the end he gets the girl and lives a long peaceful life with his wife and children.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

I had reading issues and did not learn to read out loud until I was in High School. If I had not had a teacher who fought for me I would have failed several grades. She knew I could read, as I read her paper every day, and discussed articles with her when I should have been outside at recess in 6th grade. Yet, at that time, I was unable to read out loud a first grade book.

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

Governor sets priorities and operates the State Agencies to deliver services to citizens. The legislators need to allocate funds and hold the administration accountable to deliver services and stay within the budget.

Wen a Governor ask for something the legislators should immediately take up the issue . They may or may not agree and take action in the way a governor would like but they should immediately study and address the request.

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

Educating our young citizens to take their places in a diverse multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religions society. We seem to have forgotten we are a diverse nation of immigrants. We are not nor should we be monolithic having only one culture, religion or ethnicity.

E pluribus unum - Out of Many, One. We are many different states , cultures who make up the United States. We only have one thing in common. Our belief in our Constitution.

A place where everyone has basic Human Rights. Laws that restrict a citizens freedoms to read a book, make their own medical decisions must be seen for what they are - in conflict with our democratic form of Government .

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

Legislators need a wide variety of education, life experiences, professions. I do think serving in a previous elected office should be a requirement. I served on the Emergency Services Board of Johnson County that oversees the 911 Emergency call center.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Yes I do as you need to be able to listen to each other and work together. However if an elected refuses to acknowledge the rights of a group of citizens then there is no need to tolerate that.

Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

If people spoke about me the way they do about State Senator Harold Caskey (D) Bates County I would be honored. I disagreed with him over the Jam and Jelly Law - I was wrong. Their have been vey few issues with that provision of the State Food Code.

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

NO. I doubt I would even un for re-election. I would not be running now if I had found a Democrat to run .

Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

The Woman who recently miscarried and had to wait several weeks for a D&C to insure no one thought the doctor might have preformed an abortion. Waiting increased her risk of infection. Women die from sepsis/infection when part of the fetus or placenta remain in the uterus. There was no medical reason to wait.

Tell us your favorite joke.

Riddle - If Athletes get Athletes foot what do spacemen get ? Mistletoe .

Should the legislature oversee or grant the use of emergency powers?

Emergency powers in the case of a War and then only for a limited time.

What is the first bill you would introduce if elected?

A bill to expand the number and size of Vocational Nursing schools to train LPNs/ Practical Nurses.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Moms for Gun Sense. I do not have yet but expect to have Abortion Action to endorse me. I still have to meet with them next week .

What committees interest you?

Health - I worked as a Environmental Public Health Specialist for 20 years in the US Army, 15 with County Health Departments. I Managed Occupational Health Clinics, Heath Promotion programs and a Physical Exam Section while in the Army. I know Public Health policy, especially as it pertains to Public Health Emergency response.

Education- Although I only have an Associate Degree I have graduated from several trade schools. US Army : Motor Vehicle Operator , Preventive Medicine Specialist, Basic and Advanced NCO Courses, Basic and Advanced Industrial Hygiene, Pest Management. Completed a civilian EMT course. Long way of saying as a student I know trade schools. One of my issues is to expand our system of Public Vocational Schools.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

With todays technology no reason why financial documents should not be available 24/7 for every one to see.

Do you support or oppose changes to the current state ballot initiative process? If so, what kind of changes would you consider?

I oppose changes to the current process. I helped gather signatures for Right to Work, Minimum Wage, Clean Missouri , Medicaid Expansion, Medical & Recreational Marijuana and the Women's Reproductive Health Care Initiative Petition. I signed the Advanced Nursing petition that was recently circulated.

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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Raymond James campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Missouri State Senate District 31	Lost general	$12,886	$8,900
Grand total			$12,886	$8,900
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

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Candidate

Missouri State Senate District 31

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Footnotes

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Current members of the Missouri State Senate

Leadership

Majority Leader:Tony Luetkemeyer

Minority Leader:Doug Beck

Senators

District 1

Doug Beck (D)

District 2

Nick Schroer (R)

District 3

Mike Henderson (R)

District 4

Karla May (D)

District 5

Steve Roberts (D)

District 6

Mike Bernskoetter (R)

District 7

Patty Lewis (D)

District 8

Mike Cierpiot (R)

District 9

Barbara Washington (D)

District 10

Travis Fitzwater (R)

District 11

Joe Nicola (R)

District 12

Rusty Black (R)

District 13

Angela Mosley (D)

District 14

Brian Williams (D)

District 15

David Gregory (R)

District 16

Justin Brown (R)

District 17

Maggie Nurrenbern (D)

District 18

Cindy O'Laughlin (R)

District 19

Stephen Webber (D)

District 20

Curtis Trent (R)

District 21

Kurtis Gregory (R)

District 22

Mary Coleman (R)

District 23

Adam Schnelting (R)

District 24

Tracy McCreery (D)

District 25

Jason Bean (R)

District 26

Ben Brown (R)

District 27

Jamie Burger (R)

District 28

Sandy Crawford (R)

District 29

Mike Moon (R)

District 30

Lincoln Hough (R)

District 31

Rick Brattin (R)

District 32

Jill Carter (R)

District 33

Brad Hudson (R)

District 34

Tony Luetkemeyer (R)

Republican Party (24)

Democratic Party (10)