ST. LOUIS—State Rep. Sarah Unsicker, who dropped out of the race for state attorney general last month after suggesting her primary opponent was connected to allegations of foreign election interference, announced Monday night that she’s running for governor.

What You Need To Know

  • State Rep. Sarah Unsicker announced plans to run for governor in Missouri in 2024 Monday
  • Unsicker was kicked out of the Democratic caucus in the House after formal unidentified complaints from members after also being stripped of her committee assignments. She’s faced criticism over her use of social media to promote two men who have been linked to conspiracy theories and anti-Semitic ideologies
  • She dropped out of the race for Attorney General after she accused her then-opponent of foreign election interference

  • Unsicker has said she planned to remain a Democrat but did not clearly specify her party affiliation in the campaign announcement

Unsicker was kicked out of the Democratic caucus in the House after formal unidentified complaints from members after also being stripped of her committee assignments. She’s faced criticism over her use of social media to promote two men who have been linked to conspiracy theories and anti-Semitic ideologies.

In a message to supporters earlier Monday, Unsicker defended the men, including one who is now identified as her campaign manager, and said they were victims of a smear campaign. She also said she wasn’t a holocaust denier or a Nazi.

Unsicker has previously said she would remain in the Democratic Party.

Her announcement for governor said it was being made from the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. and was an appeal claiming that “Missouri is the battlefield for the soul of America,” and that in Missouri,“There is no justice in our courts. Our politicians do not govern. Families are being torn apart. People are still forced into slave labor. Our elections are under attack from enemies foreign and domestic. And the same spirit that would have ripped this country asunder in 1861 still threatens us today.”

The announcement promises a campaign against Jay Ashcroft, the Republican Secretary of State who is one of three leading GOP candidates for the race. Unsicker has previously said she would remain in the Democratic party, but she has not confirmed her intended party affiliation for the Governor’s race

If she runs as a Democrat, she would face House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, the leader of the House caucus that exiled Unsicker, and Springfield businessman Mike Hamra. The Quade campaign declined comment Monday night. The Hamra campaign did not respond to a question seeking comment.

Unsicker dropped out of the race for Attorney General after forwarding claims of foreign election interference to the Secretary of State’s office, which later said that it had not received “any evidence that even remotely relates to Missouri election interference,” and that Unsicker declined to fill out a complaint form that could have included more information.

Her opponent in the Attorney General’s race, Elad Gross, denied the allegations and had already called for her to drop out of the contest and resign her House seat. Unsicker is unable to seek an additional term in the House due to term limits.