Missouri Democratic Party chairman wants to field more candidates, rebuild clubs

The Missouri Democratic Party needs to field more candidates and rebuild Democratic clubs across the state, party chairman Stephen Webber said Monday during a visit to Cape Girardeau.

Speaking to about a dozen members of the College Democrats group at Southeast Missouri State University, Webber said the Democratic Party fielded 43 fewer candidates for Missouri House seats in 2016 than 10 years earlier.

The Democratic Party fielded candidates in 97 of the 163 House districts. Webber said 66 Republican candidates ran unopposed for state House seats in 2016.

“If there is nobody (Democrat) on the ballot, you can’t win,”

he told the students gathered in the University Center’s program lounge.

“Voters aren’t even given the choice to vote people out,” said Webber, a former state representative from Columbia, who lost a bid for a state Senate seat last year.

In rural Missouri, people often vote for GOP candidates because “they are the only name on the ballot.”

If Democrats don’t run for office, voters are going to “default to the Republican Party,” he said.

Webber said the Democratic Party needs to rely more on social media and encourage local Democratic organizations to be involved in communicating via such technology.

College Democrats at the meeting welcomed the new emphasis on social media.

Webber said the party plans to be involved in initiative-petition efforts to increase the minimum wage in Missouri, ban lobbyist gifts and change how legislative districts are drawn.

The party chairman suggested Democrats can appeal to rural voters because President Donald Trump’s trade policies will hurt farmers.

Webber said Democratic candidates for state offices need to work together. Former governor Jay Nixon, a Democrat, did not raise money for the party, but strictly for his political campaigns, Webber said.

Zack Dunn, president of College Democrats at Southeast, said young Democrats in the state need to be better organized.

Webber said Democrats are at a disadvantage politically because Republicans are completely in charge of state government, from the governor to the Legislature.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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