Russ Carnahan is the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor on the November 8 ballot. His Republican opponent is Mike Parsons, a former state senator who started his political career as sheriff of Polk County, which is 96 percent white and has less than 1 percent African-American population. Carnahan, who lives in St. Louis’ diverse Central Corridor, served in the U.S. Congress until the 3rd Congressional District he represented was redrawn, putting him in the 1st Congressional District, where he lost to incumbent U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay in the 2012 primary. His father, Mel Carnahan, was Missouri governor, and his mother, Jean Carnahan, was appointed to serve briefly in the U.S. Senate when her husband was elected posthumously in the wake of a fatal plane crash.
The American spoke to Russ Carnahan about what the lieutenant governor does and why a Democrat in the office could make a difference, how a city dweller like him plays out-state, and some of the other candidates and constitutional amendments on the November 8 ballot with him.
The St. Louis American: Talk about the role of the lieutenant governor and why it matters.
Russ Carnahan: The office was created to have someone prepared and ready to serve as governor if and when called upon, but in Missouri the office runs independent from the governor. I very much support Chris Koster to be the next governor, but I also want to be a strong partner with him, and the system works better when the lieutenant governor is a good partner with the governor. Many times – like now and in recent years – we have had a governor and lieutenant governor who are opposed almost all the time. That’s really not a very good situation for the state. The lieutenant governor also has independent duties, including to serve as president of the state Senate. So it’s very important to have someone who will take that job seriously, to preside fairly and to be sure that all senators get a fair opportunity to be heard, and that they follow the rules and not bend and break their rules to force through bills that are discriminatory or that attack working families.
The American: Explain, procedurally, what it means for you to have the gavel in the state Senate.
Russ Carnahan: You have the gavel and you preside over Senate sessions and determine who gets called upon and for what purpose. You make sure our local state senators have a fair opportunity to be heard and to reflect the voices of their constituents in the state Senate and not be strong-armed or shut down in ways that are contrary to Senate rules.
The American: Republicans control the Senate, and cities are Democratic strongholds, so senators from St. Louis or Kansas City only get heard if there is a Democrat serving as lieutenant governor.
Russ Carnahan: Or someone just committed to following their own rules. It shouldn’t be a crazy notion to be committed to following your own rules and for people to have a fair opportunity to be heard.
The American: You were starting to list other duties of the office.
Russ Carnahan: Other duties of the lieutenant governor include economic development, in particular as regards affordable housing, through several key state commissions. The Missouri Housing Development Commission does major investments in affordable housing projects in the state; it’s very important in both rural and urban areas. The office also has key roles regarding veterans, seniors and tourism.
The American: What are some examples of what you could do with those duties of the office?
Russ Carnahan: Former Lieutenant Governor Joe Maxwell started a veterans benefits task force that has been more dormant in recent years. If tens of thousands of veterans qualify for benefits, but are not being connected with them, then there is an important outreach function for the office. I served on the Veterans Affair Committee in Congress and have been very involved with advocating reforms at the Cochran VA Hospital in St Louis. It’s an issue I feel very strongly about – connecting veterans with benefits they have earned.
The American: You are on the November 8 ballot with Amendment 6, the voter photo ID initiative. Up or down?
Russ Carnahan: Absolutely against it. It’s unnecessary, and it’s politically designed to disenfranchise voters and it disproportionately targets people who are lower-income, who move a lot, minorities, seniors, the disabled. It’s a deliberate political attempt to disenfranchise people who are less likely to vote for Republicans. It’s the Republicans’ answer to losing market share among voters. These kinds of attempts have been held unconstitutional around the country. I urge people to vote it down.
The American: How about Amendment 3, which purports to raise taxes to fund early education, but is funded by big tobacco and has provisions saying no funding will go to STEM cell research or abortion services?
Russ Carnahan: Strongly against it. It’s part of a battle of big tobacco versus little tobacco dressed up like it’s about kids. It’s very cynical. Definitely we should raise the cigarette tax, we have the lowest in the country – but not like this.
The American: You said you support Chris Koster for governor. What about the other, down-ballot races?
Russ Carnahan: We have a record number of three women running on the statewide ballot. Let’s go down the list. Robin Smith for secretary of state. For recent years we’ve had a common-sense, professional secretary of state. The office is important for running elections, but also for ballot measures. Robin brings a unique background of fairness and trust from decades in journalism, which is very important in that office. Judy Baker for state treasurer. Judy has a very long record of public service at the state and federal levels, and she is uniquely qualified to serve as state treasurer. And, finally, Teresa Hensley for attorney general. She has been a serious prosecutor with real court experience, and she is running against someone, Josh Hawley, who would turn the office into an ideologically driven right-wing office, and that’s not good for our state.
The American: Having served in Washington, it must be something for you to see Jason Kander poised to possibly upset Roy Blunt as an incumbent Republican U.S. senator.
Russ Carnahan: Jason is a very unique and well-qualified candidate with a military record and a record in state government and the right values for our state at a time when Washington is so dysfunctional. His best line in the campaign that summarizes it all is “We’re not going to change Washington until you change the people you send there.”
The American: Missouri is a weird state –
Russ Carnahan: A diverse state.
The American: It’s a weird state, where you have to campaign in diverse cities but also in remote rural area. How are you playing out-state?
Russ Carnahan: My message is not a top-down message, it’s been a bottom-up message. I’ve had many roundtable meetings across rural and urban Missouri over the last year, listening to leaders and citizens across the state talk about what their priorities are and how they want their state government to operate. We have unique issues in rural Missouri and urban Missouri, but also have a lot issues in common, and that’s where my background is particularly important. I grew up in rural Missouri, in Rolla, and we still have our family farm there, but my wife and family live in St. Louis, in the Central Corridor, which is one of the most diverse parts of the city. I represented a district in Congress that was part of the urban core, including a very diverse part of the city, but also had suburban and rural areas. I have a good understanding of the diverse areas of this state and an understanding of how to bring people together to get things done.
The American: In your last two elections, your opponent was a black man. You beat Tommie Pierson in the primary for lieutenant governor, and Lacy Clay beat you in the 2012 primary for the redistricted 1st Congressional District. Have you circled the wagons with them?
Russ Carnahan: In all of my campaigns, I’ve had very strong and diverse supporters – African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, Bosnians. I have long-term relationships in diverse communities across St. Louis. Those are important to me, and I will continue to engage with those communities and work with them.
The American: Have you had sit-downs with Tommie and Lacy?
Russ Carnahan: We were opposed in those races, but we were friends before and we’re friends after. They have been allies for me in this general election.
The American: Give us your best shot as to why people should vote against Donald Trump.
Russ Carnahan: The best thing is to listen to what he is saying. That’s the best motivation. He gives you a new reason every single day. He’s got two full weeks from now to give you new reasons every day to go vote for Hillary Clinton. In the beginning his candidacy may have been funny or entertaining, but this is way too serious for our country and our future. We need someone who tries bring our very diverse country together to get things done, not someone who tries to tear us down and divide us. That’s not who we are.
