EWING, Mo.— The race to succeed term-limited Missouri State Senator Cindy O'Laughlin (R) next January is gaining momentum.
State Representative Greg Sharpe (R) will not be seeking reelection in the Missouri House of Representatives. Instead, he has his eyes on Sen. O'Laughlin's seat.
Sharpe is taking a hard stance on getting education funded, telling KTVO that public education is the most important thing in northeast Missouri.
During his time in the state House, Sharpe tells us that he sponsored legislation to bring developed housing to small towns that haven't seen new housing in 20 years.
"A lot of these towns have not had a new house in them for 20 years, and they're going into some green field places where the old houses are taken down. The infrastructure's already there, the water and sewer provide some housing," Rep. Sharpe said. "And it also provides the steppingstone where if somebody moves into this house, another house becomes available."
Sharpe spent 15 years with the Missouri Soybean Association. He tells us that it would be good for Missouri to keep the soybean industry in the state.
"With several value-added projects, was involved with ethanol and biodiesel and also in meat packing and the dairy industry at times to try to bring and keep those industries in Missouri. The largest industry in the state is still agriculture, and the largest crop in Missouri is soybeans," Sharpe said.
Sharpe will be facing off against Dusty Blue and Missouri State Representative Ed Lewis for the GOP ticket on August 4.
While Nick Miler and John Leykamp will be battling it out on the Democratic ticket to move forward to the general election.