Caleb Rowden no longer running for secretary of state

BY DMITRY MARTIROSOV

missouri news network

Sen. Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, made a surprise announcement Monday that he is dropping his bid for secretary of state.

“When I announced my intention to run for Secretary of State last November, I truly believed it was the best decision for my family and I,” Rowden said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Through a number of additional conversations with my wife and those close to our family, I no longer believe that to be true.”

Rowden, a 12-year veteran of the Missouri General Assembly, is the President Pro Tem of the Senate, the top leadership position. His Senate term ends this year.

Rowden was slated to run against fellow GOP members of the legislature, including Sen. Denny Hoskins, R-Warrensburg, who is term-limited, and Rep. Adam Schwadron, R-St. Charles.

Political in-fighting among Senate Republicans has plagued the chamber for years, something Rowden pointed out in his statement.

“While there have always been deep political and philosophical disagreements about how to get to a desired outcome, the desired outcome and the facts used to make decisions used to be shared values,” he said. “More and more, the latter no longer seems to be the case.”

Rowden was first elected to the legislature in 2012 and represented District 44 in the House for two terms. In 2016, he was elected to represent District 19 in the Senate, beating former Rep. Stephen Webber, D-Columbia, by less than 2% of the vote, and has been in his position ever since. Webber is running again to take over Rowden’s soon-to-be vacant seat.

Hoskins said he was surprised at first when he saw Rowden’s announcement, but added that while campaigning, he witnessed a very clear message from voters.

“Missourians, they’re looking for more of a conservative fighter like Josh Hawley than a Liz Cheney Republican,” he said.

A member of the Freedom Caucus, Hoskins said he believes people are tired of what he called “campaign conservatives.”

“Those people that campaign one way on the campaign trail and say that they’re very conservative but then get to Jefferson City and vote like Democrats,” Hoskins explained.

Asked if he feels Rowden’s announcement in any way affects his chances of securing the secretary of state position, Hoskins said his focus remains on his campaign.

“I can’t control what anybody else does, just myself,” he said. “So we’re really just going to focus on our campaign and our conservative message that seems to be resonating throughout all of Missouri.”

There are six candidates for Missouri’s secretary of state office, four Republicans and two Democrats. In addition to Hoskins and Schwadron, Republican candidates include Valentina Gomez, a real estate investor, and Greene County Clerk Shane Schoeller. Democrats include Monique Williams and Rep. Barbara Phifer, D-St. Louis.

While Rowden is withdrawing from the race, he never officially filed to run.

Coming to the final stretch of a long lawmaking career, Rowden said he feels his legacy in politics is secure and that his time in the legislature has been “life-changing.”

“These years will be ones I will look back on with deep gratitude and humility for the chance the people of mid-Missouri gave me to serve them in this way,” Rowden said.

He added, “I am as certain as I have ever been that this is the right decision for me and my family in this season of our lives.”

The filing period for the August primary ends 5 p.m. on March 26. The elections will be on Aug. 6.