State Reps. Sean Pouche and Mike Jones agree on most policies. The primary for the 34th District comes down to how they’d legislate.
By: Annelise Hanshaw
Missouri Independent
The two Republican lawmakers competing to succeed Missouri Senate Majority Leader Tony Luetkemeyer seem to agree on almost everything.
State Reps. Sean Pouche and Mike Jones voted the same way more than 80% of the time during this year’s legislative session, according to analysis of House floor votes by The Independent. Both are endorsed by Missouri Right to Life. They even briefly shared a donor: Pouche’s father, former state Rep. Fred Pouche, gave Jones $500 last year.
Pouche, a Parkville Republican finishing his sixth year in the House, casts himself as a legislator who works the process. He served this year on the House committees on fiscal oversight and legislative review, waystations that each review more than 100 bills annually, and voted against just over 3% of bills this year.
“I have been a conservative voice while also being willing to listen to both sides of the issue and trying to find a way forward,” he told The Independent.
Jones, a Kansas City Republican in his second year, has staked out a harder edge. He voted against more than 11% of bills on the House floor, and his latest ad promises he “stands with President Trump” and will “continue to protect our freedoms and our values.” He is the only candidate in the race endorsed by the Missouri Fraternal Order of Police.
Jones did not respond to numerous interview requests from The Independent.
Also on the ballot is Ryan Gerster, a St. Joseph restaurant and pub owner making his first run for office — without a campaign committee, without major donors and, by his own account, without much interest in the Republican Party as it currently exists.
Missouri’s 34th District state Senate seat, encompassing Platte County and much of Buchanan county including the city of St. Joseph, does not have an incumbent running. Leutkemeyer, a Parkville Republican, is leaving due to term limits and is running for Platte County Prosecuting Attorney.
Nathan Willett, a city council member in Kansas City now running for Congress, and state Rep. Brenda Shields, a term-limited Republican from St. Joseph, originally put their names in for the seat but withdrew before the final day of filing.
Jones also switched up his campaign, giving up his bid for reelection to the House on March 30 and filing for State Senate the next day.
“Every time somebody got in or somebody else got out of the race, my idea has been the same,” Pouche said. “I have been serving the country for a while, with my time in the Navy, and that appeals to me, and it is what I feel like I want to do.”
All three candidates have military experience. Pouche studied at the Merchant Marine Academy out of high school and went on to have a career in the U.S. Navy Reserve as a commander. Jones served in the Air Force from 1997 to 2001, performing maintenance on gunships, according to his House biography. And Gerster spent 15 years in the Army National Guard, six of those in active duty, he said.
Pouche and Jones both sit on the House Veterans and Armed Forces Committee.
Jones, with a high-and-tight haircut and a campaign that lauds his service as an Air Force Veteran, carries his time in the military through to his legislative proposals addressing issues of safety and seeking tax exemptions for disabled veterans.
During the legislative session, Jones sponsored a bill seeking to raise the penalty for drivers who fail to stop for a school bus loading and unloading children. The bill, co-sponsored by Pouche, passed the House with only two “no” votes and was eventually rolled into an omnibus safety bill in the Senate that Gov. Mike Kehoe signed into law Thursday.
Jones’s legislation giving law enforcement more ability to take down unmanned aircrafts was also included in the safety package. He was also the House handler of a Senate bill signed by Kehoe Thursday that establishes a training program dubbed the “Missouri Rangers.” The law creates a new force of armed guards for schools trained to respond to shootings.
“Kehoe has made public safety his top priority, and I’m proud to share that commitment,” he wrote in a social media post about the bill signings.
Pouche’s largest bill this year sought to prohibit the state and municipalities from mandating the closure of places of worship during emergencies, unless there is imminent danger.
He also has proposed legislation to require insurance coverage of insulin and epinephrine auto-injectors and bills that would allow pharmacists to provide a dosage of insulin without a prescription in emergencies.
Neither idea has made it into law. But Pouche feels his biggest impact happens behind the scenes.
“I believe in the more deliberative part in the Senate and actually getting down to what really matters in a bill,” he said. “Digging through the bill is what I’ve been trying to do in my six years in the House.”
This campaign is Gerster’s first foray into politics, but he vows it will not be his last. He told The Independent that he is “not going away,” despite facing criticism from local Republican groups.
Gerster’s businesses, the Brass Lion Pub and bar and grill First Ward House bar, have hosted events such as Latin and pride nights. He doesn’t side with right-wing policies placing restrictions on LGBTQ+ Missourians, saying he breaks from the party when it comes to social issues.
“Constituents come in every flavor of person,” he said. “And I’m here to represent everybody.”
He knows a victory is “not likely” and is challenging two well-funded campaigns.
As of April, Jones had $89,000 in his campaign’s fund, reporting about $100,000 in contributions through March 31 in 2025 and 2026 Missouri Ethics Commission filings and just under $16,000 in expenses. A majority of his spending this year has been on social media. His campaign had not filed the second quarter report, due Wednesday, by time of publication. A political action committee called Beverly PAC has raised $311,000 in support of Jones.
Pouche has raised $168,000, including $130,000 he loaned to his campaign in April. He has raised around $38,000 from other donors and spent almost $39,000 with a large chunk going to two political consulting groups.
The winner of the Republican primary will go on to face either Pam May of St. Joseph or Shereka Barnes of Kansas City, depending on the results of the Democratic primary.