Candidate for governor Dixon stops in Cape Girardeau

Another Missouri governor hopeful made a stop Tuesday in Cape Girardeau.

State Sen. Bob Dixon announced Monday at his Springfield home he would be the fifth Republican candidate jumping in the race for governor in 2016.

After the initial announcement, he began a tour of the state to discuss his plans for Missouri, stopping in Cape Girardeau the first day.

Dixon said he plans to run a "front porch, kitchen table" campaign that will go beyond television and social media. His stop Tuesday was at a home in Cape Girardeau, where a small crowd was gathered.

His brief speech included details of his stance on some of the larger political issues -- he's against abortion and a supporter of gun rights and traditional marriage -- but largely focused on what he hopes to achieve for the state's future.

Dixon said he promotes unity across the state, combined with "sensible conservative solutions, so that we can move the state forward and really bring real jobs, real economic progress back to our hometowns."

"There are a lot of issues that face us and sometimes, in the current political system, we get hung up on the issues that divide us," he said. " ... There's so much more to talk about than those things. We've got some serious challenges economically that families, moms and dads that work really hard to put food on the kitchen table and make sure their kids get a good education so they can face the challenges their going to see in the next generation."

He first was elected to the Senate in 2010, having served in the house for eight years, and has a history in banking and finance. Dixon said he was re-elected last fall with no opposition, and running for governor was "the furthest thing from my mind."

It was the encouragement from a number of people -- some Dixon said he knew and others he didn't -- that changed his mind. Before entering the governor's race, Dixon said he was contemplating his exit from the political arena and completed training to enter the real-estate field. He will be term-limited in 2018.

"The fact that I'm standing here in Southeast Missouri talking about running for governor is surreal," he told the crowd Tuesday.

Dixon chairs the Senate's criminal justice committee and supported a recent overhaul of the state's criminal code, the first since 1979. The Associated Press reported he voted in favor of the right-to-work measure that was vetoed by Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon in June and supported a bill requiring a 72-hour waiting period for women to receive an abortion.

Other Republicans hoping to become Missouri's next governor include former Missouri House speaker and U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway, Lt. Gov. and Cape Girardeau native Peter Kinder, former state representative Randy Asbury and state Sen. Mike Parson, who also has made campaign stops in Cape Girardeau.

Nixon's term limits prevent him from seeking re-election, although Missouri attorney general and fellow Democrat Chris Koster has expressed interest in succeeding him.

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

Cape Girardeau, Mo.