Prop A draws 'no' votes from area Republicans

Many Southeast Missouri Republicans voted �no� on Proposition A, the right-to-work measure that had the backing of GOP state lawmakers and business leaders.

Statewide, 67 percent of the more than 1.38 million Missourians who cast ballots in Tuesday�s primary voted against the measure, according to election officials.

In a four-county area of Southeast Missouri, Prop A passed only in Cape Girardeau County. Voters in Perry, Bollinger and Scott counties soundly rejected the measure.

But even in heavily Republican Cape Girardeau County, the measure passed by the slightest of margins, 50.4 percent to 49.6 percent.

Nearly 16,000 voters � almost a third of the county�s registered voters � cast ballots on the issue with 7,997 of them approving Prop A and 7,870 opposing it, election results show.

A "Vote NO on Prop A" sign sits in the back of a truck outside of a rally July 23 at Capaha Park in Cape Girardeau.Ben Matthews ~ Southeast Missourian

Republican ballots accounted for the majority of votes cast in Cape Girardeau County. Only 3,320 Democratic ballots were cast, according to election records.

In Perry and Bollinger counties, the majority of voters also cast Republican ballots and most of them said �no� to Prop A.

Some 67 percent of primary voters in Perry County opposed the ballot measure. In Bollinger County, more than 60 percent of the voters said �no� to Prop A, according to election returns.

So why did so many Republican voters object to Prop A?

Southeast Missouri State University political-science faculty members Jeremy Walling and Jason Sides said labor unions had a well-funded and highly visible campaign to defeat the measure.

�It is a classic example of a really good campaign,� said professor Walling.

The campaign began early while supporters of Prop A didn�t visibly campaign until shorty before the election, he said.

�They didn�t get out in front of it at all,� Walling said of organizations supporting Prop A.

By contrast, �pretty much every commercial break on every TV show was �vote no.�� Walling said.

Opponents of Prop A, he said, had a simple message: �It�s bad for the economy and it hurts people.�

Fellow faculty member Sides, an assistant professor, agreed labor unions were well organized and �had everything together� including effective television commercials.

Sides said the television commercials in support of Prop A �didn�t make sense.�

Only about 8 percent of the workforce in Missouri is unionized, labor leaders said.

Even so, Sides said he believes many Missouri families have favorable views of unions because they have or have had relatives who were labor members.

Missourians, he added, traditionally have been �a lot more favorable to labor unions� than residents in some of the other politically red states.

Sides suggested many Missourians are worried about future �economic prospects,� which may have added to voter opposition to Prop A.

Prop A sought to eliminate union dues as a requirement for employment in any workplace, which would have upheld a law passed by state lawmakers in 2017.

Proponents argued RTW would boost wages, grow jobs and promote union accountability. The measure had the backing of the state chamber of commerce and other business groups.

Opponents claimed it would lead to lower wages and cost jobs.

Sides said Tuesday�s election results may demonstrate a growing divide in the GOP between party �elites� and its working-class members who are vocal supporters of President Donald Trump.

Cape Girardeau County Clerk Kara Clark Summers said she believes the ballot measure �drove people to the polls.�

She said there was visible opposition to Prop A. She said there were yard signs �everywhere� urging voters to say �no� to the ballot measure.

Summers said former Gov. Eric Greitens was a strong supporter of RTW. When he resigned earlier this year, it eliminated one of the loudest voices for Prop A, she said.

�I think it was more his issue than anybody else�s,� she said.

No other statewide GOP leader stepped up to push the measure, Summers said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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