JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — One of the leading candidates for governor in the 2024 election is making same-sex marriage an early issue in his campaign.
Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft sent a letter Tuesday to retiring U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, also a Republican, urging him to reverse course in his support of a federal measure that would protect gay marriages.
Blunt didn't. He was among the 61 "yes" votes on the bill, which now returns to the House for approval.
The letter marks the second time Ashcroft has outlined a conservative position as the election to replace term-limited Gov. Mike Parson in two years begins to heat up.
Ashcroft, who has been secretary of state since 2016, could face Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and state Sen. Bill Eigel in the GOP primary. Last month Ashcroft launched a plan to strip Missouri's public libraries of state funding if they do not "institute measures to protect minors from non-age-appropriate materials."
Critics say the library maneuver, which is not yet finalized, amounts to book banning, which has become a popular culture war issue among conservative Republican politicians.
In raising same-sex marriage as an issue, Ashcroft urged Blunt to "use whatever means possible to stop the passage" of the federal Respect for Marriage Act, which codifies gay marriage at a national level.
It was Blunt, however, who provided a key procedural vote earlier this month to bring the measure up for debate in the Senate.
In a statement, Blunt said the measure is designed to accomplish two things.
"People who are legally married in one state have the same protections and responsibilities in any other state that are offered to and required of marriages. And, this legislation enhances the religious freedom for all Americans by protecting religious organizations from retaliation by federal agencies due to their views on marriage. I believe it's better for Congress to clarify these issues than for federal judges to make these decisions," Blunt wrote.
Blunt was among 12 Republicans who joined Democrats to support the bill 62 to 37, setting up Tuesday's final 61-36 Senate vote.
"I always appreciate lots of advice," he told the Kansas City Star after receiving the letter.
More than 70% of Missouri voters backed a constitutional amendment in 2004 that banned gay marriage.
But same-sex marriage in Missouri has been legal since the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which struck down state bans on marriages between two people of the same sex on June 26, 2015.
Ashcroft contends the proposed federal law runs afoul of "traditional principles of federalism" by altering the balance between state and federal power.
"Missourians have overwhelmingly approved marriage as a bond between one man and one woman," Ashcroft said in the letter. "This legislation is clearly an attack on traditional marriage and undermines the family."
In a handwritten note accompanying his letter to Blunt, Ashcroft added, "Please, I urge you to stand strong for Missourians."
Ashcroft's move drew a rebuke from Democrats in the Missouri House.
"The Secretary of State views LGBT Missourians that want to consecrate their bond as undeserving of that right, a right he believes should belong exclusively to straight people. This is bigotry. Nothing more, nothing less," the caucus wrote in a tweet.
Rep. Wes Rogers, D-Kansas City, also slammed Ashcroft.
"It's 2022. Gay people and straight people should be treated equally. It's not that hard. Good lord," Rogers tweeted.
Missouri's other U.S. senator, Republican Josh Hawley, voted "no" on the measure. He earlier said religious freedom protections in the measure were not strong enough.
Ashcroft's jockeying comes as Kehoe has been winning endorsements of statewide organizations in the run-up to 2024. Kehoe and a political action committee supporting him reported nearly $1.8 million in contributions through September.
Kehoe, a former car dealer, received an endorsement from the state automobile dealers association and has garnered $250,000 in campaign contributions from various dealers this month.
His office did not respond to a request for comment about his position on the bill.
Ashcroft, the son of former U.S. Attorney John Ashcroft, has nearly $1.9 million in his campaign war chest.
Eigel, a former leader of a faction of conservative senators in Jefferson City, said he is in the exploratory phase of a potential gubernatorial campaign. His campaign finance reports show he had a total of $408,000 in his campaign accounts through the end of September.
No Democrats have signaled plans to seek the state's top elected office.
