Missouri Democratic gubernatorial candidate and current Attorney General Chris Koster kicked off his statewide tour Wednesday morning to rally support for the general election in November.
His first stop was Harrisonville. He spoke to more than 80 supporters in the same courtroom where he got his start as a Cass County prosecutor.
Koster talked mostly about bringing balance to the state with fiscal conservatism and social tolerance.
The former Republican said he can unite folks on both party lines.
"A lot of folks in rural Missouri, while they like the conservative principles I stand for, like small government and protection of the Second Amendment, are also wondering why the Republicans aren't funding their schools. Why are the Republicans not filling the potholes on their littered roads? These are the things that we want to talk about throughout the state," Koster said.
He didn't address what he plans to do about issues in Missouri's urban areas, mainly focusing on rural topics.
He made some jabs at his Republican competitor Eric Greitens, questioning the party's decision making, saying Greitens doesn't have any government or business experience.
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Koster even seemed to poke fun at Greitens' political ads, saying Greitens’ only political philosophy as he can understand it is, "burn the place down, let's blow the place up. And let's fire machine guns and do sit-ups into the camera." Koster went on to say, "I don't get what that has to do with running the government of Missouri."
Koster said main issues he plans to address on the tour are protecting working wages, creating jobs and funding hospitals and public schools. He cited 15 school districts that are now down to four days a week as an example.
"We live in a state that is gearing up for globalized competition and gearing up for a service economy, as knowledge economy," Koster said. "And the Republicans' strategy for the future is to cut the foundation formula by 25 percent and let Missouri kids go to school four days a week?"
Ending the speech, Koster said he wants to prevent Missouri from going "off a cliff the way Kansas did."
His next stop is Springfield. Koster will also be making stops in Joplin, Rolla, Columbia, St. Louis, and St. Charles.
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Sarah Plake can be reached at Sarah.Plake@KSHB.com
