By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
A Democrat takes on a big challenge in far northwest Missouri, running for the Missouri Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Dan Hegeman of Cosby.
Hegeman has to leave the Senate due to term limits, leaving an open race for the District 12 Missouri Senate seat, the largest district in the Missouri Senate, comprised of 18 counties.
Michael Baumli of Maryville, who works in cyber security and computer science, says he felt compelled to enter the race.
“I saw an opening and I decided to take it,” Baumli tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “Term limits for Dan Hegeman kicked in and so I thought if no one else is going to do it, I might as well jump in. I really don’t like politics. I don’t like diving into it, but something had to be done and someone had to step up.”
Baumli grew up on a farm near Maryville and says, if elected, he would be an advocate for rural communities, especially in education and agriculture. Baumli not only works in computer science, he is a student at Northwest Missouri State University, attempting to wrap up a degree.
Baumli faces Republican Rusty Black of Chillicothe, a state representative who emerged from a crowded Republican primary field to run for the Senate.
Baumli acknowledges that as a Democrat, he faces an uphill battle.
“I would call it more of an up-mountain battle,” Baumli jokes.
Baumli says he realizes there are no Democrats from northern Missouri serving in either the Missouri House or Missouri Senate, where Republicans hold commanding majorities.
What will it take to win the race?
“A lot of miracles,” Baumli quips. “I’m a realist, too. So, whenever I say, ‘Yeah, up a mountain,’ it’s going to take a lot of connectivity. It’s going to take a lot of time and effort.”
Baumli says the only path to victory is hard work.
“Time and money and effort, things that just no one ever really has and the ability to connect to people,” according to Baumli. “It’s hard. But, I’m relatable in the sense that I’m trying to do what everyone else is trying to do: just get by and get ahead, if at all possible.”
Baumli says as a native of rural Nodaway County he can relate to those living in the 12th District.