Lawmakers sometimes need to set politics aside and do what's best for Missouri, said Rudy Veit, the Republican candidate for Missouri House of Representatives District 59.
More often than not, votes on bills proposed in the state's chambers are split down party lines.
"There should not be that much division," Veit said. "Our system was set up for two sides to argue their points and try to get them resolved somewhere in the middle."
Veit, an attorney from Wardsville who has litigated for 40 years, said the process is much like mediation, in which a judge sits with the parties and works to get their differences resolved.
"Everybody gives and takes a little. I may not get that done there, but it is certainly worth a try," Veit said of the Legislature.
Veit defeated four other candidates during the August primary election for the Republican nomination. The district includes a portion of eastern Jefferson City, most of Cole County and a portion of northern Miller County.
His Democratic opponent for the Nov. 6 general election, Linda Ellen Greeson, ran unopposed for her party's nomination.
The candidates are vying for the seat held by state Rep. Mike Bernskoetter, R-Jefferson City, who is completing his fourth term. Term limits prohibit him from running for another term.
Veit and his wife, Jeri, have been married for 44 years. They have four children, two of whom are also attorneys, and six grandchildren.
He started working for the Carson & Coil law firm during his third year of law school and has worked for the firm ever since.
"It is (unusual) in today's world. Now, lawyers move all the time," Veit said.
He's been in litigation since the beginning, he said. When he entered the firm, he was assigned to an attorney whose practice focused on litigation. Veit had some interest in tax or corporate law, but his eyes opened when he began litigating.
"I started out in the usual litigation - car wrecks, criminal work, even divorce work," he said. "I did a medical malpractice defense, a product defense, trucking defense. At some stage, my interest has evolved to mainly representing individuals in personal injury and workers' comp."
If elected, Veit hopes to use his abilities within the House.
Even within a supermajority, he said, there is not always complete agreement. And legislators have to create an environment that's in the best interests of the state - not just the political party - or it won't be long until it won't be the supermajority.
He said Gov. Mike Parson and Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe appear to be running a less divisive state government than predecessors.
"My view of Gov. Parson is that if you agree or disagree with him, you have to agree that he's an honest, sincere man who's trying to do what's best for the state," Veit said. "And I think that carries over to the Legislature."