Republican David Wasinger elected Missouri lieutenant governor

Republican David Wasinger won the race for lieutenant governor on Tuesday, besting Democrat Richard Brown.

Final, unofficial results show Wasinger defeated Brown 57% to 38%.

Wasinger, who describes humble beginnings as a Hardee’s worker and paper boy, is a St. Louis-based attorney who “took on Wall Street banks” following the 2008 financial crisis in fraud cases. Winning the cases, he secured tens of millions for his clients.

His personal wealth has bankrolled his campaign, loaning himself $2.6 million and spending $300k funding a political action committee that attacked his opponent in the GOP primary.

He edged out state Sen. Lincoln Hough of Springfield in the Republican primary by around 7,500 votes.

The lieutenant governor is next in line for governor, sits on various boards and breaks ties in the state Senate. In Missouri, unlike many other states, the lieutenant governor doesn’t run on a ticket with the governor.

Wasinger repeatedly connects himself to former U.S. President Donald Trump, labeling himself a “MAGA conservative.”

In one campaign ad, he walked along a highway wearing faded blue jeans and vowing to deport immigrants living in the United States without legal authorization.

“Trump is right. Illegals break our laws, steal our jobs and overwhelm our hospitals,” he said in the ad, ending with, “You come here legally or it’s adios amigos.”

He also emphasizes anti-abortion policy. His website states: “Valuing life from conception to natural death is a core principle of my campaign.”

Although Wasinger labels himself a political outsider, this is not the first time he has thrown himself into the ring. In 2018, he lost to Saundra McDowell in the Republican primary for state auditor.

And in 2007, Wasinger represented a group that sought to ban affirmative action through an initiative petition in a legal battle against the Secretary of State’s Office.

He previously served on the University of Missouri Board of Curators as an appointee of Gov. Matt Blunt.

The Missouri Independent is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization covering state government, politics and policy.