Ronald William Harris

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Ronald William Harris

Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

August 2, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

University of Missouri, Kansas City, 1982

Graduate

Trident University International, 2012

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Air Force

Years of service

1975 - 1978

Service / branch

U.S. Air Force

Personal

Birthplace

Memphis, Tenn.

Religion

Catholic

Profession

Owner/Operator, Over the road truck driver

Contact

Campaign website

Ronald William Harris (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. Senate to represent Missouri. Harris lost in the Democratic primary on August 2, 2022.

Harris completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

Harris was a 2012 Democratic candidate who sought election to the U.S. House to represent the 6th Congressional District of Missouri. Harris was defeated by Kyle Yarber in the Democratic primary on August 7, 2012.

Harris ran for Missouri's House of Representatives 40th District in 1996, and 1998. Harris was a candidate for Congress in 2000 in Missouri's 5th. Harris also ran for the Kansas City School board in 2000 and 2002, under a platform to increase the need for students to attend safe schools.

Biography

Ronald William Harris was born in Memphis, Tennessee. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1975 to 1978. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Missouri, Kansas City in 1982 and a graduate degree from Trident University International in 2012. His career experience includes working as an over-the-road truck driver. Harris has been affiliated with the American Legion and Vietnam Veterans of America.

Elections

2022

See also: United States Senate election in Missouri, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. Senate Missouri

The following candidates ran in the general election for U.S. Senate Missouri on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Eric Schmitt (R)	55.4	1,146,966
		Trudy Busch Valentine (D)	42.2	872,694
		Jonathan Dine (L)	1.7	34,821
		Paul Venable (Constitution Party)	0.7	14,608
	Submit photo	Nathan Mooney (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	14
	Submit photo	Steve Price (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	9
		Rik Combs (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	6
		Gina Bufe (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	5
		Theodis Brown Sr. (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	4
	Submit photo	David Kirk (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	3
	Submit photo	Martin Lindstedt (Independent) (Write-in)	0.0	0

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,069,130
= 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

• Nicholas Strauss (Independent)
• Ronald Deets (Independent)
• John Wood (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Missouri

The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Missouri on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Trudy Busch Valentine	43.2	158,957
		Lucas Kunce	38.3	141,203
		Spencer Toder	4.7	17,465
		Carla Wright	3.9	14,438
		Gena Ross	2.4	8,749
		Jewel Kelly, Jr.	1.8	6,464
		Lewis Rolen	1.4	5,247
		Pat Kelly	1.4	5,002
		Ronald William Harris	1.1	4,074
		Joshua Shipp	0.9	3,334
		Clarence Taylor	0.9	3,322

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 368,255
= 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Timothy Shepard (D)
• Scott Sifton (D)
• Ronald Deets (D)
• MD Rabbi Alam (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. Senate Missouri

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Missouri on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Eric Schmitt	45.6	299,282
		Vicky Hartzler	22.1	144,903
		Eric Greitens	18.9	124,155
		Billy Long	5.0	32,603
		Mark McCloskey	3.0	19,540
		Dave Schatz	1.1	7,509
	Submit photo	Patrick Lewis	0.9	6,085
		Curtis D. Vaughn	0.5	3,451
	Submit photo	Eric McElroy	0.4	2,805
	Submit photo	Robert Allen	0.3	2,111
		C.W. Gardner	0.3	2,044
	Submit photo	Dave Sims	0.3	1,949
		Bernie Mowinski	0.2	1,602
	Submit photo	Deshon Porter	0.2	1,574
		Darrell Leon McClanahan III	0.2	1,139
	Submit photo	Rickey Joiner	0.2	1,084
	Submit photo	Robert Olson	0.2	1,081
	Submit photo	Dennis Lee Chilton	0.1	755
		Russel Pealer Breyfogle Jr	0.1	685
	Submit photo	Kevin Schepers	0.1	681
	Submit photo	Hartford Tunnell	0.1	637

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 655,675
= 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• John Brinkmann (R)
• Dan McQueen (R)
• Ronald Deets (R)
• Rik Combs (R)

Constitution primary election

Constitution primary for U.S. Senate Missouri

Paul Venable advanced from the Constitution primary for U.S. Senate Missouri on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Paul Venable	100.0	792

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 792
= 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.

Libertarian primary election

Libertarian primary for U.S. Senate Missouri

Jonathan Dine advanced from the Libertarian primary for U.S. Senate Missouri on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jonathan Dine	100.0	2,973

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,973
= 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.

2012

See also: Missouri's 6th Congressional District elections, 2012

Harris ran in the 2012 election for the U.S. House to represent Missouri's 6th District. He faced Ted Rights, Kyle Yarber, and Bill Hedge in the Democratic primary. Harris was defeated by Kyle Yarber.

Democratic Primary

The primary took place on August 7.

Missouri's 6th Congressional District Democratic Primary, 2012

Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Kyle Yarber	32.6%	10,242
Bill Hedge	27.4%	8,620
Ronald William Harris	23.8%	7,483
Ted Rights	16.3%	5,118
Total Votes		31,463

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Ronald William Harris completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Harris' 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 started my adult work as a Communications Analyst in the United States Air Force. In the Air Force I meant the best people in the World. I had the great honor to work with professional soldiers who worked to protect the United States of America.

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?

• I have made a lot of mistakes in my life, but as I see it, only in America would I have been given opportunity after opportunity after opportunity to become a relatively successful human being. People should vote for me because I want all Americans to be successful. Each individual, if they have the heart to keep trying, the opportunity should be there for them to succeed. I believe my experience as an American Worker gives me a realistic view of the tremendous struggle that Americans have at work, in community, and making and keeping family. For example, no one should be denied the opportunity to get a certified education because they can’t afford it.
• Americans, we must do something about the working wage in this country. There is no greater factor that divides a family than the ability to financially provide for a family. What most of us do as workers is live to work but making and creating family is so much more than outside work. I was very privileged to have a stay-at-home Mom, who gave me stability, emotional consistency, and a happy home life. However, my father worked two jobs and his home life was more of a place to sleep at than anything else. We cherished the Sunday dinners he was able to attend. Everyone, everyone knows are wages have been stagnated for over forty years. That in real wage, using the dollar value wage of the minimum
• The Opioid Crisis is the most disturbing and destructive crisis of our time. We are talking about 100, 000 Americans being killed last by a chemical attack. This is chemical terrorist attack on our country. Fentanyl is a synthetic drug that the drug Cartels are putting in every drug that they push. People should not be murdered because of their Stupidity, or because they are seeking relief from their personal pain, and there is a lot of pain I America. We need to get it stopped and we should use all means possible to stop it. I swear I will use all the energy I have, and all the breath I have to stop this killing of the American people.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am a United States Air Force Veteran who served during both The Vietnam Era and The Cold War. I held the rank of Sergeant receiving a Good Conduct Medal for my Service. My Service took place in Italy, England, and Japan. I worked in the USAF Security Service as a Communications Analyst. My last position was as the Senior Advisory Analyst for Dawg Flight 6920 Air Base Group. I am well-traveled in Europe, Asia, and the United States. I worked as a Contractor in Iraq during the surge 2007-2008. During the Summer Months for 10 years, I worked as an Input Data Operator for various contractors at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas participating in training program with various National Guard Units throughout the Country.
I was an Active participate in United States politics for 20 years. I’ve run as a Candidate for both the Republican and Democratic parties. I was the Republican Committee person in my precinct. I ran as a Republican for State Representative in 96 and 98 in a heavily Democratic District. I ran for congress as a Republican in 2000 in Missouri 5th District. I ran for the KCMO School Board in 2002 and 2004. In 2012 I ran for Congress in Missouri 6th Congressional District as a Democrat. Personally, I have always considered myself a JFK Democrat who was my life long personal Hero. Switching parties has been for the interest of the Nation. I actively participated in both parties’ political organizations and campaigns. I was on Attorney General John

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

I am a United States Air Force Veteran who served during both The Vietnam Era and The Cold War. I held the rank of Sergeant receiving a Good Conduct Medal for my Service. My Service took place in Italy, England, and Japan. I worked in the USAF Security Service as a Communications Analyst. My last position was as the Senior Advisory Analyst for Dawg Flight 6920 Air Base Group. I am well-traveled in Europe, Asia, and the United States. I worked as a Contractor in Iraq during the surge 2007-2008. During the Summer Months for 10 years, I worked as an Input Data Operator for various contractors at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas participating in training program with various National Guard Units throughout the Country.

    I was an Active participate in United States politics for 20 years.  I’ve run as a Candidate for both the Republican and Democratic parties.  I was the Republican Committee person in my precinct.  I ran as a Republican for State Representative in 96 and 98 in a heavily Democratic District.  I ran for congress as a Republican in 2000 in Missouri 5th District. I ran for the KCMO School Board in 2002 and 2004.  In 2012 I ran for Congress in Missouri 6th Congressional District as a Democrat.  Personally, I have always considered myself a JFK Democrat who was my life long personal Hero. Switching parties has been for the interest of the Nation.  I actively participated in both parties’ political organizations and campaigns.  I was on Attorney General John Ashcroft bus.  I worked in George W. Bush 2000 Campaign, and Governor Blunt’s in 2004.

I have an MBA from Trident International University, graduating Summa Cum Laude. I have also pursued an unfinished Doctorate at Trident. I am a certified Math and Social Studies teacher receiving my certification from Florida Southeastern Nova University. I Worked as a Substitute teacher for 10 years, in all the Kansas City Metropolitan School Districts and in most all the schools. I have BA degrees

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.

See also

2022 Elections

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Government

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External links

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Candidate

U.S. Senate Missouri

Website

Footnotes

[show]

Missouri's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Josh Hawley (R)

Eric Schmitt (R)

Representatives

District 1

Wesley Bell (D)

District 2

Ann Wagner (R)

District 3

Bob Onder (R)

District 4

Mark Alford (R)

District 5

Emanuel Cleaver (D)

District 6

Sam Graves (R)

District 7

Eric Burlison (R)

District 8

Jason Smith (R)

Republican Party (8)

Democratic Party (2)