Its that process that creates the dichotomy Silvey lamented. The reason that lawmakers are out of touch with statewide voters isnt just because of the states longstanding rural-urban divide, its also because they long ago gerrymandered legislative districts to protect incumbent Republicans. Doing so made the districts look less like their actual communities and created primaries where, in most cases, only the most extreme Republican could win.

There are very few legislative districts left in Missouri that could elect a thoughtful Republican voice like Silvey or Barnes, and that puts the state at a loss.

So in November, as Parson is running from his COVID-19 record and his opposition to providing health care to the working poor, the bipartisan coalition that passed Medicaid, passed the minimum wage, fought right-to-work and supported medical marijuana, will be back to defend Clean Missouri.

I think you will see similar voices of support, for the Vote No on Amendment 3 campaign that Missouri saw with Medicaid expansion, says political strategist Sean Nicholson, who is getting the Clean Missouri band back together. There will be business and labor groups and community groups. There is a disconnect between what the Legislature has been working on and where the people are at.

The people, says Silvey, want health care. They want the government to solve problems. Yes, even Republicans. Medicaid expansion passed overwhelmingly in Kansas City, St. Louis and Columbia, but it also passed in the two Republican hotbeds of St. Charles County and Green County.

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Messenger: From COVID to Medicaid expansion, Missouri governor's race revolves around health care - STLtoday.com