Missouri Minority Leader and Democrat candidate for governor, Crystal Quade, says gridlock and Republican infighting have cost the state billions in investment opportunities.

Quade was in Mexico last Monday, Oct. 16, for the monthly meeting of the Audrain County Democrat Club to bring her campaign to town. Quade, who’s been in Jefferson City since 2017, said the fighting and divisiveness has reached a boiling point.

Quade said when she first arrived in Jefferson City she could work with Republicans on policy.

“It was a place that was filled with more honor and statesmanship,” Quade said. “Each year that I have been there the extremism has gotten worse and the divisiveness has gotten worse.”

2023 was the worst policy year in the state’s history with the fewest bills making it to the governor’s desk. The state also, according to Quade, sent back billions of dollars to Washington D.C. because of fighting. Quade also chastised the $6 billion surplus the state is sitting on and said the state’s rainy day fund doesn’t need more than $1 billion to $1.5 billion.

“We had an enormous opportunity to make serious investments in Missouri,” Quade said. “Instead of doing that Jefferson City chose to leave $6 billion unspent. Most of it we have to send back to D.C.”

Quade said she has to get creative as the minority leader with her 52 votes. She said the two Republican caucuses fight with each other more than they compromise.

“There will be days as the Democrat leader and say, ‘What do I want to stop today or get done?’ And then I think, ‘Should I go and hang out with the conservative caucus today or take my votes over to the moderates today?’ I have to get really strategic in a lot of ways politically,” Quade said. That’s good for us politically because we are able to pivot. But as a citizen, it’s maddening that there aren’t actually things happening there.”

Quade said there are so many Republicans running for their next office or have some type of agenda that often she feels like she’s dealing with children.

“I’ve had people come up to me and say ‘I want that bill to pass but not with his name on it because that will help him with his race. Is there a different person you can help get that done?’” Quade said. “It’s so stupid. I feel like I’m a mom.”

Quade said there are good people in the House on both sides. Quade called Audrain County State Rep. Kent Haden, “A nice man.” However, she sees a void in leadership that’s been filled by the extremists.

“We’ve got to send people to Jefferson City who are doing it for the right reason and not their own careers,” Quade said. “The folks who are ascending to the top of the power structure are the folks who are worried about their next whatever.”

Quade said although she’s in the same bucket running for governor, it’s not an office she ever dreamed she would run for.

“While this is an honor of my lifetime, this isn’t the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” Quade said. “That’s the big difference. We need to find folks who feel that way and elect them.”

Quade said Democrats need to do some reflecting and can’t just blame Republicans for everything that’s happening. She said for far too long Democrats have stood by and haven’t pushed back enough while giving up on some rural areas of Missouri.

“I also feel like as a party, we haven’t been great about calling out the nonsense,” Quade said. “We’re a little too nice when things are, you know, life and death for a lot of Missourians. I think we need to be honest with people when we’re talking to our neighbors and say, ‘What the heck are they doing? Or what they’re not doing and talk about the facts.”

Quade said building back her party will take a lot of hard work.

“We can’t just be out here saying, ‘Well you know, we care about you. So vote for us,’” Quade said. “We’ve got to dig in and really do the work and make sure folks understand that.”

Quade said some young people are going to Mizzou or other schools in the state and not coming back to the family farm. She said the extremist policies are driving young people out of the state.

“I have a nine-year-old and I don’t want her to leave here,” Quade said. “I want her to grow up in Missouri. I want her to be proud of this state and not look for places to go outside of here because it doesn’t represent her or she doesn’t feel safe here. That’s on us to fix it.”