The leaders of the Missouri Republican Party have a new vice chairwoman after Valinda Freed, of Moberly, was defeated 20-2 Saturday afternoon in the reorganizational meeting of the 18th Senatorial District she has represented on the state committee.
Freed, a former Trump-Pence state leader, was defeated by Gale Frolos, a widowed mother of three from Frankford, population 323, in Pike County, 20 miles south of Hannibal.
Freed had held the No. 2 spot in the party since ousting Jefferson Citian Trish Vincent in February 2015. Vincent, a former director of the Department of Revenue under Gov. Matt Blunt, had been chief of staff to the late Auditor Tom Schweich before his suicide Feb. 26, 2015.
Freed resigned party positions in Randolph County earlier this year. She said Saturday she had been in charge of recruiting Missouri convention delegates for Trump. Aaron Willard was the Trump-Pence campaign boss in Missouri. He had been chief of staff to a House speaker and a senator, head of the House Republican Campaign Committee and campaign manager for Congresswoman Ann Wagner, R-St. Louis. Under his leadership, the Trump-Pence campaign garnered 1.6 million Missouri votes and a 57-39 percent victory over Hillary Clinton. In Cole County, Trump pulled 24,610 votes for a 66-29 percent romp.
Frolos said after watching President-elect Donald J. Trump's televised victory speech Wednesday morning, "I went to check on each of my sleeping children, and for the first time in eight years, I went to bed with a sense of hope for them, me and our nation. I'm actually excited for our new president and what he's going to do. He may not always have been the best or first choice for some of us, but he brings every American real hope for a better life."
The election of Frolos drew positive responses from GOP leaders. Aaron Baker, a fixture around the Capitol and in GOP campaigns the past decade, recruited Frolos to oppose Freed. Baker, now an operative with Jeff Roe's Axiom Strategies, said, "Gale is a young mom who's worked hard to turn her county red - a place that has had just two GOP officials in the courthouse to a full sweep in 2016. I was pleased she was willing to answer the call to serve."
Senate Majority Caucus Whip Brian Munzlinger, R-Williamstown, said, "These elections represent the best of a grassroots organization. Gale will organize and work hard for all Republicans throughout the district."
Jonathon Prouty, executive director of the MRP, said of the deposed Freed, "Valinda has been a valued part of the GOP. We appreciate her service and look forward to continuing to work with her to further the conservative agenda."
Frolos is chairwoman of the Pike County Republican Central Committee, president of the Pike County Republicans Club, vice chairwoman of the 40th Legislative District Committee for Rep. Jim Hansen, R-Frankford, vice chairwoman of the 18th District senatorial committee and treasurer of Congressman Sam Graves' 6th District committee.
She holds a bachelor's degree from Hannibal-LaGrange University in Hannibal and has worked in banking and for the Missouri Division of Family Services.
A man and woman from each of the 34 Senate districts is elected the first Saturday after general elections, thus comprising the 68 members of the state party committees. The 18th District meeting was chaired by Dr. Evan Emmerich, of Salisbury, and was conducted by conference call.