Will Kraus
Will Kraus (b. March 22, 1973) is a former Republican member of the Missouri State Senate, representing District 8 from 2011 to 2017. Kraus resigned on July 31, 2017, after he was appointed by Gov. Eric Greitens (R) to the Missouri Tax Commission.[1]
Kraus was a 2016 Republican candidate for Missouri Secretary of State.[2] He was defeated in the Republican primary by attorney Jay Ashcroft.[3]
Biography
Kraus earned a bachelor of science in business administration from Central Missouri State University after serving on active duty for the U.S. Army as a mechanized infantryman. Kraus continued his military served in the Army National Guard, then as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve. He served in Iraq in 2003 to 2004 and is a member of the Missouri National Guard.
Kraus' wife, Carmen, began his 2004 campaign for the Missouri House of Representatives before Kraus returned from his tour in Iraq. He went on to unseat the incumbent state representative and served three terms in the House. In 2010, he was elected to the Missouri State Senate.
Kraus coaches youth sports and is a member of the Lee's Summit Chambers of Commerce and the board of directors for Hope Network.
Education
B.S. business administration, Central Missouri State University
Committee assignments
2017 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:
| Missouri committee assignments, 2017 |
|---|
| • Commerce, Consumer Protection, Energy and the Environment |
| • Economic Development |
| • Local Government and Elections |
| • Veterans Affairs and Military Affairs, Vice chair |
| • Ways and Means, Chair |
| • Joint Committee on Government Accountability |
| • Joint Committee on Tax Policy |
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Kraus served on the following committees:
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, Kraus served on the following committees:
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, Kraus served on the following committees:
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, Kraus served on the following committees:
| Missouri committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Real ID and Personal Privacy |
| • Health Care Policy, Vice chair |
| • Job Creation and Economic Development |
| • Utilities, Vice chair |
Issues
No New Taxes Pledge
A minority of Missouri lawmakers signed the 2011 edition of the "No New Taxes Pledge." The Taxpayer Protection Pledge is offered by the nonprofit lobbying organization Americans for Tax Reform with the goal of opposing all tax increases as a matter of principle. Just one out of 34 state Senate members signed the 2011 pledge. Out of 163 state House members, only 38 lawmakers signed.
Kraus signed the pledge.[4]
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2016
- Main article: Missouri Secretary of State election, 2016
Kraus ran as a Republican for Missouri Secretary of State in the 2016 elections. He competed with Jay Ashcroft and Roi Chinn for the Republican nomination in the August 2 primary election.[2] Heading into the primary election, Ashcroft had reported significantly more fundraising activity than his two opponents, though Kraus had earned several more key endorsements from state legislators than Ashcroft. Ashcroft ultimately won the Republican nomination on August 2.
Primary election results
Jay Ashcroft defeated Will Kraus and Roi Chinn in the Missouri Republican primary for secretary of state.
| Missouri Republican primary for secretary of state, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Jay Ashcroft |
61.33% | 401,361 |
| Will Kraus | 34.60% | 226,473 |
| Roi Chinn | 4.07% | 26,638 |
| Total Votes (3214 of 3214 precincts reporting) | 654,472 | |
| Source: Missouri Secretary of State | ||
Campaign finance
| Will Kraus Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| 10/1/2015-12/31/2015 | 1/15/2016 | $614,990.86 | $68,716.97 | $(14,517.51) | $667,885.35 | ||||
| 1/1/2016-3/31/2016 | 4/15/2016 | $667,885.35 | $77,927.62 | $(44,707.58) | $723,257.77 | ||||
| Second quarter | 4/1/2016-6/30/2016 | $723,257.77 | $128,426.00 | $(23,019.60) | $797,316.17 | ||||
| Pre-primary | 7/1/2016-7/21/2016 | $797,316.17 | $126,842.67 | $(891,174.48) | $3,467.69 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $401,913.26 | $(973,419.17) | ||||||||
Endorsements
| Key endorsements, Republican primary candidates | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Will Kraus | Jay Ashcroft | Roi Chinn | |||||||
| Missouri Cattlemen's Association | Former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee (R) | Know of an endorsement for this candidate? Tell us! | |||||||
| Former Missouri Treasurer Sarah Steelman (R) | Missouri Eagle Forum | ||||||||
| Senate President Pro Tempore Ron Richard (R) | Right to Life | ||||||||
| Senate Majority Floor Leader Mike Kehoe (R) | Veterans in Defense of Liberty PAC | ||||||||
| Senate Majority Whip Brian Munzlinger (R) | |||||||||
| State House Speaker Pro Tempore Denny Hoskins (R) | |||||||||
| House Majority Floor Leader Mike Cierpiot (R) | |||||||||
| Right to Life | |||||||||
| National Rifle Association | |||||||||
| What is a key endorsement? | |||||||||
2014
- See also: Missouri State Senate elections, 2014
Elections for the Missouri State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election was held on August 5, 2014, followed by a general election on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 25, 2014. Incumbent Will Kraus was unopposed in the Republican primary and was unopposed in the general election.[5][6]
2010
On November 2, 2010, Kraus won election to the Missouri State Senate.
| Missouri State Senate, District 8 General election (2010) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| Will Kraus (R)
|
50,615 | |||
| Kevin Parr (D) | 13,157 | |||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Will Kraus ran for District 48 of the Missouri House of Representatives, beating Joe Volpe.[7]
Will Kraus raised $84,652 for his campaign.[8]
| Missouri House of Representatives, District 48 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Will Kraus (R) | 11,170 | 58.0% | ||
| Joe Volpe (D) | 8,078 | 42.0% | ||
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.
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Kraus is married and has 3 children. He has been a member of the Lees Summit American Legion, Raytown Crossroads Chamber of Commerce, Raytown South Middle Parent Teacher Student Association, Raytown Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Southwood Parent Teacher Association.
[9]
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
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Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Missouri scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2017
In 2017, the Missouri General Assembly was in session from January 4 through May 12. The legislature held its first special session from May 22 to May 26. The legislature held its second special session from June 12 to July 25. The legislature held a special session on September 13.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on economic issues.
- Legislators are scored on bills related to reproductive health issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to reproductive health issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2016
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2016, click [show]. |
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In 2016, the Missouri General Assembly was in session from January 6 through May 13.
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2015
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2015, click [show]. |
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In 2015, the Missouri General Assembly was in session from January 7 through May 15.
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2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the Missouri General Assembly was in session from January 8 through May 19.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the Missouri General Assembly was in session from January 9 through May 30.
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Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Will Kraus Missouri State Senate. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Missouri State Senate
- Senate Committees
- Joint Committees
- Missouri state legislative districts
- Missouri General Assembly
External links
- Profile from Open States
- Profile from Vote-USA
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Contributions: 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004
Footnotes
- ↑ St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "KC-area state senator appointed to Missouri Tax Commission," July 31, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Missouri Secretary of State, "Official candidate filing list," accessed March 31, 2016
- ↑ [fox2now.com/2016/08/02/august-2-missouri-primary-election-results-from-fox-2-news/ Fox2Now: St. Louis, "August 2 Missouri Primary Election Results from FOX 2 News," accessed August 3, 2016]
- ↑ Americans for Tax Reform, "2011 State Legislative Signers of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge," accessed November 26, 2013
- ↑ Missouri Secretary of State, "All Results - State of Missouri - Primary Election - August 5, 2014," accessed August 26, 2014
- ↑ Missouri Secretary of State, "Certified Candidate List - Primary Election," accessed July 24, 2014
- ↑ Missouri Secretary of State, "Official Election Returns - State of Missouri General Election - 2008 General Election," accessed October 22, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money's report on Kraus' 2008 campaign contributions
- ↑ Project Vote Smart - Rep. Kraus
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Matt Bartle |
Missouri State Senate District 8 2011–2017 |
Succeeded by Mike Cierpiot (R) |
| Preceded by ' |
Missouri State House District 48 2005–2011 |
Succeeded by NA |
