State political party officials are recognizing something that Foley pointed out during the last round of elections. Platte County and the Kansas City suburbs have some areas turning a bit blue. The Missouri Times, which is the one the foremost news media regarding statewide politics, has begun handicapping 2026 elections. State Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer is term limited in 2026, so our Team Tony parties will have to be for statewide office, but that is for another day.
The Times says this about the Senate seat Tony will leave: “There is a chance that a Democrat could compete.” This was pure nonsense just a few years ago but has become a reality as the metropolitan influence has reached outward to the suburbs. Democrats at the state level are now moving the seat into a “maybe” category.
Republican State Rep. Sean Pouche, a longtime Platte County political name, is mentioned as a potential suitor for the job as well as State Rep. Brenda Shields and a young upstart politician, Kansas City Councilman Nathan Willett of Kansas City.
Democrats seem likely to seek a candidate from southern Platte County, where they have made inroads in the last elections and the population base that exceeds the northern area of the district could result in a competitive race, according to people that know such things.
Shields is reported to have $118,632 of cash on hand with Pouche sporting $20,811 of campaign pocket change and Willett having $32,067. None of those amounts are going to get you a Senate seat, but the money will start rolling in as the election nears.
The Times also mentions Willett as a potential future governor. That is quite a jump from his current city council position. Anyone from this area knows that governor is a tough lift for anyone from the northwest corner of the State of Missouri. In fact, my limited research says the odds are not great. Platte County’s Guy Park appears to be the last governor from this far northwest and that was in 1937, which is quite a few years ago if you are not good at math.
Foley makes fun of my Team Tony fandom, but I think Luetkemeyer may be the best, “Governor from the area” chance we will see in the foreseeable future. His mid-Missouri roots and connections make him a bit less of an underdog in terms of being restricted by his current representation of Platte and Buchanan Counties. He’s got cash and potential to gather a bunch more (see Herzog), a leadership position in the Senate already and he has a dog named Truman that gets my vote secured.
Lastly, I need a historian. I was reading up on Guy Park. Seems like a legit politician and lawyer that left a lasting impression on the area. But I’m curious about his name. According to Wikipedia, Park’s parents were Thomas Woodson and Margaret Baxter Park, which means he took his mother’s name and not his father’s. Can someone help me down this rabbit hole of curiosity? It just didn’t look typical for that time and place. Send me a telegram or Western Union and let me know the background on this.
(Guy Speckman can be reached via Western Union only)
