Republican Jason Smith of Cape Girardeau is seeking his sixth term as Missouri’s 8th District representative in the U.S. House of Representatives. Challenging him in the primary are Republicans James Snider of St. Mary, Grant Heithold of Salem and Democrats Randi McCallian of Edgar Springs and Franklin Delano Roth II of Hillsboro. McCallian did not return a Leader questionnaire.
The winners of the August primary will face Libertarian Jake Dawson of St. Louis.
The district covers the eastern half of Jefferson County and southeast Missouri, including the Bootheel and extending west to near Branson.
U.S. representatives are paid $174,000 per year. The term is for two years.
Republicans
Smith, 44, of Cape Girardeau is currently the U.S. representative and also a farm owner. He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri in Columbia in 2001 and earned a juris doctorate from Oklahoma City University Law School in 2004.
Jason Smith
Snider, 28, of St. Mary is a self-employed flooring installer, Uber driver, DoorDasher, pollster and political campaign specialist. He is a Hillsboro High School graduate. He is married to Emma and they have four children.
James Snider
Heithold, 62, of Salem is the owner of a small business, Scott Material/Heatmor Midwest in Licking. He is married to Lori and they have three children and 10 grandchildren. He has a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering from University of Missouri-Rolla in 1985.
Grant Heithold
What experience do you have that might serve you well in this position?
Smith: As a seventh-generation Missourian and fourth-generation family farm owner, I’m a son of the Missouri soil. As the son of an auto mechanic and a factory worker, my humble, working-class roots are the experiences of so many southeast Missourians. The American Conservative Union chose me as the top conservative in the Missouri delegation, and my record shows how I am fighting for working-class Missourians, small businesses and farmers with all the policies I support.
Snider: I worked for the Josh Hawley Campaign in 2018 and the Missouri GOP as a volunteer. In 2016, I volunteered for the America First Campaign.
Heithold: I am a Republican committeeman, volunteer chaplain at the Texas County Memorial Hospital and also a member of the ethics committee at the hospital.
What specific needs exist in your district, and how would you address them?
Smith: The cost-of-living crisis that has been created under President Biden is the biggest challenge facing families in southeast Missouri, and I have been fighting every day against the policies that created that crisis. I opposed President Biden’s $2 trillion American Rescue Plan and his Inflation Act, the spending from which caused prices to spike over 20 percent since he took the oath of office. We need to rein in government spending, stop Washington bureaucrats from needlessly harming small businesses, and pass pro-growth, pro-family tax policies that grow our economy and leave Missourians’ money in their own wallets.
Snider: More funding for rural area towns and counties for police, fire services, ambulance services, hospitals, and infrastructure.
Heithold: We need to help the elderly/disabled and veterans more with their prescriptions and doctor visits/services while allowing them to access care wherever/whenever they need it. We can fund their needs better with less money going abroad to the seemingly endless wars. The astronomical cost of food is also hard for many. Stopping inflation with less government overspending would help solve this, too.
What steps should the U.S. government take to address concerns about immigration and border security?
Smith: Under President Trump, the border crisis had been brought under control with effective border security policies like Remain-in-Mexico and the ending of catch and release, along with the wall being built. On the first day of his presidency, President Biden began reversing all of these actions through executive action, creating the worst border crisis in our nation’s history. To control the crisis, we need to re-implement President Trump’s effective policies, build the wall, support our Border Patrol agents, and crack down on the criminals who have been allowed to stay in our country without consequence, regardless of serious crimes committed.
Snider: Enforce the immigration laws and enact better reinforcement at the border with active technology. Pull out of UN refugee programs.
Heithold: First off, stop funding the open border. We had a chance earlier to stop this, but it wasn’t followed through by our representatives. Whoever is allowed in should be properly vetted. Our citizens shouldn’t need to concern themselves with who might be coming in for nefarious reasons. Investigate why this problem is happening and hold people accountable for their actions.
What steps should the government take to address concerns about the economy?
Smith: President Trump produced the best economy of my lifetime, and it’s critical we reinstate his policies. We need to reverse the massive increase in government spending that occurred under President Biden, which fueled a cost-of-living crisis resulting in families paying nearly 20 percent more for everything including groceries, gas, and housing. We need commonsense tax relief for working families and small businesses, a key element of President Trump’s Tax Cuts and of legislation I authored this year to extend its key provisions. We need President Trump’s commitment to reducing overregulation, where 22 regulations were eliminated for each new one created.
Snider: Deregulation of the markets, reducing taxes and no tax on tips. Encouraging small business growth.
Heithold: Stop spending money we don’t have! If we have to shut the government down to help discuss these issues, then that needs to be done. President Reagan shut the government down eight times and used it to his advantage to engage in serious discussions to get the work done.
Why should voters elect you to this position? List your goals, if elected.
Smith: As a working-class citizen-legislator who still lives in rural Missouri, my goals are to fight for the lives and values of the people I live among and represent. I have long believed the best government is that closest to the people at the local level, and I’ll never stop fighting against the Washington bureaucrats who seek to control Missourians’ lives and livelihoods through central control. I’m proud to be fighting against the woke, radical left to promote a culture of life, to preserve Missourians’ Second Amendment freedoms, to secure the border, and to allow Missourians to pursue their economic dreams.
Snider: My main goal is changing the lines of a program called PILT, Payments in Lieu of Taxes. Funding for rural America is the main goal.
Heithold: I will listen to the people and hope to expose the corruption in D.C. Keep our government from spending money that is not there. Help create a balanced budget, get a handle on the border, and fix our broken election system. We need full transparency. I also hope to be part of bringing back the basics to our school systems.
Democrats
Roth, 66, of Hillsboro is retired. He worked as a grain farmer for 26 years. He worked for Monsanto and Land O’ Lakes in sales and retired as a linehaul driver from Estes Express Lines in December 2022. He and his wife Sandy have two sons – one is deceased. He received a bachelor’s degree in social science teaching from the University of Southern Indiana in 1988.
Franklin Delano Roth II
What experience do you have (elected office, civic organizations, volunteer work, etc.) that might serve you well in this position?
Roth: I have never held public office. I belong to the Sons of the American Legion, ACLU and the Aircraft Owners and Pilot’s Association.
What specific needs exist in your district, and how would you address them?
Roth: Health care: Single payer Medicare-for-All. We’re the only developed nation that bankrupts its citizens and kills them because they can’t afford medication. Jobs: Penalize companies for relocating overseas to take advantage of cheap labor. Protect a woman’s right to make her own healthcare decisions by codifying reproductive rights into law. Taxes: Go back to a progressive tax system that forces billionaires and corporations to pay their fair share. Since 1981 we’ve transferred 50 trillion dollars of wealth from the bottom 90 percent of our population to the top 1 percent. Raise the minimum wage and support unions.
What steps should the U.S. government take to address concerns about immigration and border security?
Roth: We have to get immigration under control. We had a bipartisan bill but politics was evidently more important than getting the problem under control. We need more agents at the border and we need more judges to speed up the processing of immigrants who, by the way, have the right under our own laws to file for asylum. We need more people to run background checks to make sure bad people don’t get in, but Congress won’t appropriate the money.
What steps should the government take to address concerns about the economy?
Roth: I think the economy is on the right track but inflation is still an issue, although it is coming down. I think companies took advantage of people by raising prices and blaming inflation. If a company is passing on increased costs it’s one thing but when they are making record profits, as American companies have been, then it’s price gouging. Levy a windfall profits tax on companies. Also, the infrastructure bill is bringing over 400 million dollars of investment to the 8th and that’s good for our local economies.
Why should voters elect you to this position? List your goals, if elected.
Roth: We’ve had 40 years of Republican representation in the 8th district and by every measure, things just keep getting worse. Our hospitals are closing, factories are closing, we are the poorest district in the state and one of the 10 poorest in the country. I will work for Medicare-for-All, a progressive tax system, reproductive rights, and expand and secure funding for Social Security. If we want things to get better we have to vote differently. I will work for the working people and not the corporations and wealthy. I can’t be bought!
