'The Republican Party has changed': Sen. Lincoln Hough reflects on final session

State budget knowledge
Hough’s specialty is state budget history.
Adam Koenigsfeld, director of the Senate Appropriations staff, has been a nonpartisan staffer under nine Senate appropriations chairs. He described Hough as one of the best because of Hough’s respect for staff and his intuition.
This year has been challenging as federal COVID-19 funds are running dry, requiring state reserve funds to fill a roughly $2 billion deficit in the annual budget of roughly $50 billion.
Hough said many senators do not know what a tight budget looks like, having only experienced budgets inflated by federal money.
“I’ve been telling our members for years, this is not normal,” Hough said. “We will spend down those federal dollars and we will no longer have them, which is fine. But we just need to understand that.”
Hough has seen tight budgets. In fiscal year 2012, the first budget he worked on, the state faced uncertain revenue as a result of natural disasters and the elimination of the corporate franchise tax.
Hough also recalled how, in 2017, Gov. Jay Nixon’s final year in office, roughly $200 million in state funds was left over — roughly enough to pay the 54,000 state employees for two months.
At the end of April this year, the state’s general revenue fund balance was $2.9 billion.
“Gov. Nixon left us with two months (of pay),” Hough said. “That’s a tight budget. We have $3 billion in the bank.”
Hough said he wanted that $2.9 billion used for the foundation formula, the main source of public school funding. Instead, the final amount appropriated fell $190 million short of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s request.
Without a budget committee to lead, Hough wrote his own budget this year. It would have coupled funds meant for Capitol renovations with additional general revenue to fully fund the foundation formula.
When the leadership budget was considered in the Senate, Hough proposed increasing funding from general revenue for education. His amendment was voted down 10-20, with all other Republicans rejecting it.
During each year that Hough was appropriations chair, the foundation formula had been fully funded.
“People talk about economic development, they talk about all these other incentive programs,” Hough said. “You know what the greatest incentive program in the entire world is? Educating people.”
Hough worries that the state could be in trouble due to what he described as “anemic” general revenue growth. Hough voted in 2025 to exempt capital gains from income taxes, a move estimated to cost the state $430 million in general revenue this year and $340 million annually.
“I don’t think there’s some silver bullet that all of a sudden is going to change the (general revenue) dynamic in this state,” Hough said. “But I do think a sure-fire way to mess that up or expedite a problem is to do something that we don’t really know what the outcome is going to be, right?”
Hough voted against the resolution asking voters to eliminate the individual income tax and allow the legislature to increase sales taxes to make up the lost revenue. The resolution aims to end income tax by 2032. Individual income tax is the largest share of general revenue, accounting for $9.17 billion in collections in fiscal year 2025.
“I did that (vote against) because no one has been able to articulate a real plan,” Hough said.
Hough is skeptical of relying on sales tax revenue to fund state operations. While Hough said income tax revenue can be predicted for budget planning, he is less confident that sales tax revenue will be consistent, as he believes consumer spending is less predictable.
“You can’t really tell me we’re going to raise sales tax on X, Y and Z by 5% and it’s going to dollar-for-dollar offset the income tax,” Hough said.
In a 2022 special session, Hough sponsored an income tax cut backed by Parson that became law. That plan has lowered the top income tax rate from 5.3% to 4.7%. Its goal is to lower the tax rate to 4.5% at an estimated cost of $764 million annually.
Hough said he felt the Parson income tax cuts were handled more responsibly than this year’s proposal.
“I would argue that if the policies that we’ve been operating under for the last let’s say two decades — since we Republicans have been in power — if they’re not working, then we need to look at that, right?” Hough said, reflecting on the pace of general revenue.

A changing Republican Party
“The Republican Party has changed,” Hough said.
Hough said that asking questions about motions brought by fellow Republicans was seen as problematic within his party. He added that differences of opinion and cooperation across the aisle have been discouraged by Republican leadership.
“I try to tell my kids that having different opinions is a good thing,” Hough said. “Being different than someone else is a strength. You’re different than your best friend at school. That doesn’t mean he or she is wrong or you’re wrong. You guys are just different.”
Nonetheless, Hough describes himself as a Republican. To him, that means letting people make decisions for themselves, not telling private businesses what they can and can’t do and being fiscally responsible.
On social issues, Hough has a conservative record. During the 2025 regular session, Hough voted against removing the state’s statutory ban on same-sex marriage. While same-sex marriage is legal due to a 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, both the Missouri Constitution and state statute still ban it.
Hough voted in 2024 to block Medicaid funding for abortion providers. In 2019, Hough voted to enact Missouri’s abortion trigger law, which banned abortion except for medical emergencies once Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.
But at the end of the 2025 session, Hough voted unsuccessfully against halting debate on bills repealing voter-approved sick leave and abortion protections.
Reflecting on working for former U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, Hough said Blunt promoted the importance of compromise. Former U.S. Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond, who endorsed Hough’s unsuccessful 2024 run for lieutenant governor, was also a role model.
Hough recounted a story told by U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Kansas City, after Bond died. Cleaver recalled that when he was first elected, Bond, a Republican, held a party welcoming him to Washington.
“That’s what I want from my leaders,” Hough said. “You can see someone as a human and as an advocate for the things that they care about and as a believer in their community and you can throw him a reception ... That’s what I wish we had in politics today. And we don’t.”
Hough sees deliberation as an important trait of good governance. To symbolize this, this year he wrote many amendments by hand. He taped a peacock feather to a pen and later used feather quills. Hough said many of his fellow Senators do not know how to write their own bills, relying on Senate research staff to write proposed laws.
“Everyone seems to be in a very big hurry these days,” he said. “Our attention span is 12 seconds and we’re scrolling off to the next thing. So, I started this year trying to bring back some historical perspective to the chamber.”
Hough’s attention to traditions can be seen in his Senate office. He had the room restored to how it would have looked originally, adding firefighters’ helmets and taxidermied birds to make the space his.

Who is Lincoln Hough?
Hough is a first-generation cattle rancher, a father of two boys and has worked for the Springfield Farm Bureau and sat on the Greene County Commission.
Former staffer Thomas attributes Hough’s seeming independent streak to his work as a cattle rancher, a trait seen in most farmers and ranchers. This independence kept staff on their toes.
“He can forge his own path, which sometimes makes things in these jobs a little difficult,” Thomas said. “You had to be ready to pivot, cause he is pretty fast and moving on to different things.”
Hough’s independence and willingness to work with both sides of the aisle also could be attributed to his district, which Thomas said is similar to Columbia because of its universities and hospitals. The politics of his district is something Hough acknowledges has informed his style of governance.
“Southwest Missouri is a very red area of the state. Springfield is not. Springfield is a purple community,” Hough said. “I’ve always described Springfield as an educated group of people who are thoughtful and deliberate ... So, I like having that independence about the community that I’ve represented.”
Hough’s independence is not always looked on fondly. He has been referred to as the “eleventh Democrat” because of his willingness to join Democrats during debate.
“I think they see somebody who goes out and stops debate or causes trouble or does whatever,” Thomas said. “I’m not sure they see the side that checks in on his colleagues.”
Thomas noted that Hough’s sense of independence often made him a sought-after voice.
One important group to the senator is first responders. In 2021, Hough championed a bill signed by Parson creating a state fund for firefighters battling cancer. In 2023, he saw Parson sign another of his bills allowing first responders to claim workers’ compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder. Hough said he still gets supportive messages regarding the bills.
“You have to keep those things in mind because this place will make you go insane otherwise, right?” Hough said. “You go down there and fight with everybody on the floor all the time and you just want to jump off a bridge. But then you come back up to your office and you’ve got half a dozen notes from people from around the state saying, ‘What you did for us matters.’”

A legacy of work
Hough’s impact on Missourians will be felt at least through 2030, when construction of the Improve I-70 project is set to be complete. The $2.8 billion project aims to improve and add a third lane to the 200 miles of Interstate 70 between Wentzville and Blue Springs.
“I don’t want the credit now,” Hough said regarding the construction. “I’ll take the credit later.”
Hough recalled the initial $900 million proposal from Parson in 2023 to improve three major intersections along I-70. Hough proposed improving the whole thing. He also pushed for improvements to U.S. Route 67 and other projects. In 2024, Hough was considered for the position of director of the Department of Transportation but was not selected.
Hough plans to work on his ranch and looks forward to spending time away from groundbreakings, ribbon cuttings and long days at the Capitol.
“The people back at home that keep me grounded are generally my family,” Hough said. “It’s usually my little brother that says, ‘You remember the building was there before you got there, and it’ll be there after you leave.’ I’m like, yeah, that’s a good perspective.”