Vivek Malek wins full term as Missouri treasurer

Missouri State Treasurer Vivek Malek, a Republican, has become the first person of color ever elected to a statewide office in Missouri.

Final, unofficial results from the secretary of state’s office show Malek defeated Democrat Mark Osmak 58% to 38%.

This will be Malek’s first full term as treasurer, after taking his post as an appointment of Republican Gov. Mike Parson in January 2023.

Malek’s campaign messaging focused on his support for a fortified U.S.-Mexico border, an issue with little to do with his work as treasurer, apart from his advocacy to divest state funds from foreign adversaries.

“It does not make sense to strengthen our adversaries or enemy nations,” he told The Independent earlier this year. “Anything that we are investing not only strengthens them but also puts our investments at risk.”

Prior to taking office, Malek worked as an immigration attorney, having immigrated to the United States himself from India in 2001. He opposes unauthorized immigration because of the “additional burden on the healthcare and education systems.”

Since taking office nearly two years ago, Malek has touted continued growth in the Treasurer’s Office’s funds and program enrollment.

One year into his term, he set the record for the amount returned in unclaimed property, with $51.8 million returned to people, up from $50.2 million the previous year.

Malek championed the MOScholars program, which funds private education and provides tax credits to donors. The program was months old when Malek was appointed and had $9 million in tax credits reserved for donors. Under Malek’s leadership, fundraising increased to $16.6 million in 2023.

That year, student demand for scholarships depleted the available funds and brought an operational challenge balancing a donation cycle disjointed from the school year.

He said the office may have gotten “too innovative” in the pursuit of growth, pointing to criticism he received for advertising the state’s unclaimed property program on unregulated slot machines.

“I think that was not a very savvy political move on my part,” he said in an interview about his campaign, adding he “learned from his mistake.”

According to Missouri Ethics Commission reports, Torch Electronics, which operates the machines, did not contribute to Malek’s campaign. The company gave $330,000 to a cluster of political action committees that donated to Malek’s opponent in the primary, Cody Smith.

Malek’s goals will remain focused on growth of preexisting programs, he said, but he sees the opportunity for a pair of initiatives.

Malek would like to work with state lawmakers to create a personal finance course to be made mandatory for the state’s high school students. He would also like to create an investment program catered to small municipalities.

“We can pool the resources of these smaller counties and municipalities and help them invest in a better way,” he said earlier this year. “Which can help them put that money towards being able to get extra salary days, maybe change windows on whatever they need, so they will have some extra cash.”

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