State Sen. Mike Parson launches "positive' campaign for governor

Pledging to run a "positive" campaign, Mike Parson - a second-term state senator, former three-term Missouri state representative and former Polk County sheriff - last week became the third Republican officially to declare as a candidate in the 2016 governor's race.

"I've been questioned several times about why I'm running and, without a doubt, some of the tragic events that happened in this state over the last couple of months has, probably, given me more of the ambition," Parson, R-Bolivar, told reporters at a Friday news conference at the North Jefferson City Recreation Area.

Parson originally endorsed State Auditor Tom Schweich's bid for governor, announced shortly after Schweich took his oath for his second four-year term as auditor.

At the time, the only announced Republican hopeful was former House Speaker and U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway of St. Louis County.

At and after the GOP's Lincoln-Reagan Days event in Kansas City, Schweich told some of his close associates - including former U.S. Sen. John Danforth - some Republicans were running a whisper campaign that Schweich was Jewish, even though he and his family were Christian. Schweich's grandfather was Jewish, and some analysts suggested being considered as Jewish might have hurt Schweich's fundraising efforts among Evangelical Christians.

Schweich committed suicide Feb. 26, and the following week, Parson - in a state Senate speech - urged candidates in all races to stop being negative.

He told reporters Friday, "I think Missouri politics, for one, needs to take a serious look at the way we do business. And we need to start putting out a positive message to the people of Missouri."

But is such a positive campaign possible in an era when negative advertising seems to work with voters?

"Number one, if you want to talk about your opponent, and the differences of why (and how) you view issues, then I think that's what a campaign is all about," Parson, 59, said. "You build a reputation of who you are for that many years, and the people who know you know you the best.

"When people try to destroy that - try to destroy your honor and your integrity, just to win an election - that's wrong.

"And I think Missourians are fed up with winning at all costs."

He added, all campaigns should - and his own campaign will - focus on "who we are, why we're qualified to do the job, why I'm qualified to be the next governor with my background, where I came from, what I've done in my career to get to this point today."

A month ago, St. Louis area businessman John Brunner - who lost to Roy Blunt in the 2010 GOP primary for the U.S. Senate seat - formed an exploratory committee looking at the governor's contest and called for an "end to politics of personal destruction."

In a statement, Brunner added, "As a candidate, I make the following pledge: I will not personally participate, nor will I condone any person employed by my campaign to engage in a campaign of personal destruction. I challenge all candidates for governor to join with me and take the high road."

Former state Rep. Randy Asbury, R-Moberly, launched his campaign for governor in mid-February.

"I will run on my own merits," Asbury told the News Tribune Saturday in an email.

Hanaway said, "My campaign will focus on having a conversation with Missourians that highlights my past leadership and how I will use those experiences as governor to attract more jobs and improve our schools and roads."

Jonathon Prouty is the Missouri Republican Party's executive director.

"I think that it is important for our party - any time you have the number of potential candidates for governor that we currently have - to focus as much as we can on the Democrats, on defeating Chris Koster next year," Prouty said.

So far, Koster, Missouri's current Attorney General, is the only Democrat to announce a race to succeed incumbent Democrat Jay Nixon, who can't run again because of term limits.

Prouty added, "I also think there is a place for contrast in the primary - certainly, personal attacks are out of bounds.

"But a review of a candidate's record in office - what they have said and what they have done - is entirely appropriate and, in fact, I think it's good for our party."

Some observers complain it's those comparisons and how they often are presented that become the basis for negative advertising.

"I certainly think that's up to interpretation," Prouty said. "It's a hard line to define, and I think candidates can define it in different places.

"(And) I think that would be a possible subject of debate and disagreement among the campaigns, as to where that line is."

Parson was asked, what if another campaign ran negative attack ads against him?

"If people run negative ads about you, they're going to run negative ads about you," he answered. "We're going to talk about the positive side of who I am. ...

"That's going to be my entire campaign message."

Parson said he'll emphasize his public service, including six years in the Army, his work as sheriff, as a small business owner and as a farmer.

"I know what it's like to try to make ends meet," Parson explained, "when you're younger and trying to raise a family and all the difficulties, the ups and downs of trying to raise a family.

"And being a small business owner and, without a doubt, you wonder how you're going to pay the bills."

With his wife Teresa looking on, Parson promised reporters Friday his campaign will focus on the importance of family - especially his own.

"Without a doubt, my family's the backbone of who I am," Parson reported. "The people who know me the best - that I've lived with, grew up with - and that humble beginning, I want to say, (this) is who Mike Parson is."