Democratic gubernatorial candidate Nicole Galloway has lost her bid to become Missouri’s next governor.
Galloway, who has served as State Auditor of Missouri since 2015, went live on Facebook just after 10 p.m. Tuesday to congratulate Gov. Mike Parson on his election, thank her family and encourage her supporters.
“To all the young women across Missouri who I met on the campaign trail I want you to know that there’s nothing you can’t do. Tonight I may have come up short, but over the past 15 months I have met so many young women who I know will be future governors of Missouri,” she said.
At the time of her concession speech 44.6% of precincts had reported. Galloway received 640,320, or 37.4% of the vote. Parson received 1,034,552, or 60.5% of the vote.
“Over the course of this campaign we built a coalition of Missourians who are united around a few simple values: that we can no longer ignore science and the growing threat of COVID-19; that no one should be denied access to healthcare in this deadly pandemic; and that our children deserve to live in a Missouri that is fair and accountable to all of its citizens.”
She said it’s not about partisan politics, but about putting Missouri families first.
“While this campaign is over our work continues. We must continue to organize, advocate and fight to ensure that our leaders put the needs of working families first and act with urgency to address the profound challenge this state faces.”
“For the past five years I have been proud to serve as your independent watchdog in Jefferson City,” Galloway said. “… It has been an honor of my life and you can bet I will keep demanding accountability and transparency from politicians in Jefferson City for years to come. I’m not going anywhere Missouri. Thank you and good night.”
Parson gave his acceptance speech around the same time as Galloway. He dedicated a good portion of his speech to his wife, Missouri’s First Lady Teresa Parson, and the rest of his family.
He said he believes the state of Missouri is built on Christian principals and that people don’t want the government to tell them what to do every day.
“This election was about preserving freedom, capitalism and the rule of law,” he said. “That’s what this election was all about. However there is more work to be done and that work starts tomorrow as the next term for governor.”
Jerome Bauer (Green Party) and Rick Combs (Libertarian Party) were also on the ballot for Missouri governor. The former received 9,330 votes and the latter received 26,142 votes.