Despite being in the super minority in both chambers, Missouri Democrats left this past legislative session with a few things to celebrate.
Some of the largest victories, said House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, are within the state budget. Quade also said Democrats were able to take advantage of Republican infighting and stop bills they didn’t want to see passed.
Quade was the latest guest on the Politically Speaking podcast and offered not only her thoughts on the latest legislative session, but also on why she says state Democrats are looking at a big opportunity in the 2024 election cycle.
Here’s what Quade talked about on the show:
- Why she believes Republicans were unable to accomplish all of their goals, despite having a supermajority in both chambers.
- What she sees as major budget wins for Democrats, including increasing pay for home care workers and fully funding school transportation.
- Why she believes it was so important to restore state library funding after House Republicans initially tried to cut it, as well as why she thinks she got so many calls from concerned residents on the issue.
- The lack of action this session on legislation aiding access to child care in the state and what she would like to accomplish on that front.
- Legislation passed this year that restricts transgender minors’ access to gender-affirming health care such as puberty blockers and hormone treatment and whether she believes Republicans will try to expand those restrictions to include transgender adults.
Quade was first elected to the House in 2016. She was elected minority leader after the 2018 election and was reelected to her post in 2020.
While the minority leader is less powerful than the speaker, Quade appoints her fellow Democrats to serve on standing committees and make recommendations on who serves on special committees. She will no longer serve in the House due to term limits after next year and is weighing a run for governor.
