Brendan Webber has spent years serving on local boards and participating in Mexico’s community. 

Now, he will be representing Audrain County, as well as Callaway and Monroe counties, in the Missouri House as the District 43rd representative.

Webber, who has never held, let alone run, for public office, said it was a long process he began in July 2025. So by the time Election Day came, he was relieved.

“It’s been so long at that point, you’re working at it, working at it, working at it,” Webber said. “I think at that point it was like, ‘Ok, it’s finally here. Whatever happens, happens.’” 

Votes were still being counted late into the night, and there was no time for Webber to soak in his win. The morning after the election, he was in Jefferson City filling out paperwork, joining the rest of the Republican caucus to elect House leadership and submitting his committee preferences. His top two choices were health care and economic development.

As a pharmacist, Webber hopes his experience will help him better navigate challenges within the state budget.

“We don’t have a hospital here in Mexico, rural hospitals are shutting down everywhere, and the Medicaid cuts that are forthcoming are not looking great,” Webber said. “As somebody who gets paid by Medicaid and understands how health payers work and how that system works, something I want to be involved with is figuring out that piece of the puzzle.”

Rural health care and economic development are both major concerns for District 43, and they go hand in hand in Webber’s opinion.

“You’re not going to get companies coming in wanting to develop or put in industry or job opportunities if there’s not adequate healthcare for the workforce,” he said.

Webber has served on a number of local boards including the Mexico Area Chamber of Commerce, Progress Mexico, Mexico Area Family YMCA and the Miss Missouri Scholarship Organization. But he ultimately credits his drive to seek public office to the Missouri YMCA Youth in Government program.

From eighth through 12th grade, Webber was a participant in Youth in Government. He loved it so much that he continued volunteering with the program throughout college and has remained involved ever since. 

“I’ve always loved policy,” Webber said. “I call myself a policy nerd.”

Webber added that he was raised to give back to those who supported him, and he feels fortunate to be in a community that supports his pharmacy. 

“This was just my way of doing that,” he said. “Hopefully I will be good at it and be able to contribute something to it that’s positive for the community.”

Audrain County didn’t just gain a new House representative — it will also be represented by a new senator, Greg Sharpe of Ewing. He will be filling Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin’s seat in the 18th District representing Adair, Audrain, Clark, Knox, Lewis, Macon, Marion, Monroe, Putnam, Ralls, Randolph, Schuyler, Scotland and Shelby counties.

Sharpe, who currently serves as a state representative in District 4, said he decided to run for a seat in the Senate because, in his experience, the Senate is the dominant body. He also thinks his experience as a fifth-generation farmer will serve the agriculturally focused 18th District well.

“I am not a career politician,” Sharpe said. “I’ve farmed all my life up in Lewis County.”

Sharpe is seeking a spot on the agriculture committee as well as the economic development committee. He is also an advocate for public school funding and calls himself an “unapologetic advocate for Northeast Missouri.”

“It’s a great place to raise your kids where you know your neighbors and develop trust,” Sharpe said. “I just want to continue to strengthen my rural communities and help provide some services that are threatened, including healthcare and law enforcement.”

 See the unofficial results for the Nov. 3 general election on The Mexico Ledger's website.