Democrat Crystal Quade shows off roller derby skills in Missouri governor campaign launch video

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri House Minority Leader Crystal Quade is running for governor, and the Democrat from Springfield made the announcement Sunday in a campaign video featuring her bowling through skaters on a roller derby track.

Quade, a social worker first elected to the House in 2016, painted herself as unafraid of rough and rowdy politics while wearing elbow pads, wrist guards and a baby blue helmet. The 37-year-old says in the video that her childhood surviving on food stamps inspired her to enter public service.

"People say politics can be tough," said Quade, who played on a derby team from 2010 to 2013. "I tell them, I can handle it. When you come from nothing, you fight the odds your whole life."

Quade doesn't spend the whole video on the roller derby track. The clip quickly pivots to scenes of her speaking to voters and laying out her campaign goals, which include restoring abortion rights in the state.

The governor's seat is up for grabs next year because current Republican Gov. Mike Parson is prevented by term limits from running again.

Quade wasted little time attacking Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, who announced his run for governor in April and is expected to be a top contender. She said the Republican "uses fear to score cheap political points and divide us."

"I'm not worried about bullies like Jay Ashcroft, because Missouri has never seen a governor like me before," she said in the video.

Ashcroft's campaign said in a statement that as secretary of state, he has "delivered on his promise to run fair, honest elections, overhaul the state's business services and bring accountability to government." The statement said Ashcroft "looks forward to giving Missourians a chance to compare" his record with Quade's.

Other top candidates for the office include Republicans Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and state Sen. Bill Eigel.