Mike Kehoe launches transition after winning race for Missouri governor

JEFFERSON CITY — With two months to go before he is sworn in as Missouri's next governor, Republican Mike Kehoe laid out a path for his transition Wednesday, naming a top aide to oversee his Cabinet picks and other top offices.

Adam Gresham, who is Kehoe's chief of staff in the lieutenant governor's office, said he is interviewing prospective agency directors and other staffers, as well as developing policy positions and outlining a budget plan.

"My goal is to find the best people for the right position," said Gresham, who has worked with Kehoe for 14 years.

The inauguration is set for Jan. 13, 2025.

Kehoe won comfortably in Tuesday's balloting over Democrat Crystal Quade, racking up significant margins in the state's rural areas. Unofficial returns showed him garnering 59% of the nearly 3 million votes cast.

He spent Wednesday speaking on the phone with elected officials across the state, including St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, who is opposed to his plan to reduce crime by putting the city's police department under state control.

"She very much disagrees," he said.

Even before Kehoe's victory, Gresham had begun laying the groundwork for a new administration in October by interviewing potential agency heads, including those serving under current Gov. Mike Parson.

Kehoe told reporters some of those directors could stick around, but he also said he and Parson have different working styles.

"He and I manage differently," said Kehoe, who owned a Ford dealership before getting involved in politics in 2010.

Typically, newly elected governors use the period between Election Day and the inauguration in January to assemble their teams. They are given an office and a nominal budget to use for the transition process.

Kehoe said he is unsure how the Governor's Mansion will be used during his tenure. He owns a home in Jefferson City and a cattle farm west of Rolla, which he said will continue to operate. He suggested he and his wife, Claudia, could stay there a few nights per week.

Kehoe, a north St. Louis native, emerged from a three-way primary in August. He is a former state senator who was appointed lieutenant governor in 2018 by Gov. Mike Parson. He won a full, four-year term as the No. 2 officeholder in 2020.

In making his case to be the state's 58th governor, Kehoe touted endorsements from major agricultural groups, law enforcement organizations and the business community

Along with focusing on crime, he also wants to phase in a reduction of the state's income tax rate and expand school choice.

"We'll focus on reducing taxes and cutting regulations so families can keep more of their own money and so job creators want to come here, expand here, and hire more hard-working Missourians," Kehoe said.

He also vowed to work with lawmakers to place limits on abortion rights, which were restored by voters via a constitutional amendment that was approved by a 52-48 margin Tuesday.

"I'll be on the front lines doing everything to ensure Missouri respects and protects innocent life," he said. He did not elaborate on what his specific plans might be.

He will enter office with the state facing economic headwinds that could curtail any major expansion of spending. In the current fiscal year, tax revenues are down by 3.3% and the prospects of any massive injection of federal dollars is slim under President-elect Donald Trump.

Kehoe will take over with Republicans remaining in strong control of the House and Senate. Despite some new faces, the GOP retained its super-majority status in each chamber.

Quade, the minority leader in the Missouri House for the past six years, topped Kehoe in St. Louis with 79% of the vote. She also won in St. Louis County, Jackson County and Boone County. But she fell short in her home county of Greene, where Kehoe won with 59% of the vote.

Quade's hope that a question on the ballot overturning the state's abortion ban would help her turn a reliably red state to blue fell massively short.

She was seriously outgunned financially after Kehoe launched a fundraising juggernaut that swamped her campaign. Kehoe and a political action committee backing him spent more than $18.6 million in search of a victory, while Quade spent about $2.3 million.

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Jefferson City reporter