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GOP Candidate For Missouri Auditor Faces Residency Questions

Saundra McDowell via YouTube

A 2013 lawsuit in Kansas could play a key role in deciding whether the Republican candidate for Missouri state auditor stays in the race.

Candidates for auditor must be legal residents of the state for 10 years.

But a lawsuit brought against Saundra McDowell in June 2013 shows she had an address in Mission, Kansas. At the time, she and her husband had a law practice in Kansas City, Missouri.

McDowell has previously said she qualifies as a candidate because she intended to move to Missouri before 2008. She did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Any of the candidates for auditor can file an eligibility challenge against McDowell, but not until primary election results are certified Tuesday.

Current auditor Nicole Galloway, who is the Democratic candidate, said Wednesday that the questions about McDowell’s past should concern voters.

“What this is about is her truthfulness and her qualifications to be state auditor,” Galloway said. “This is part of her track record of poor financial management.”

The 2013 lawsuit was filed by Nebraska Furniture Mart, which claimed McDowell owed the company $698.09 plus interest. It was later dismissed.

A disciplinary filing against McDowell’s husband, Jonathan, shows the couple opened the Kansas City law practice after graduating from law school, later moving it to Springfield in August 2013. The couple now resides in Jefferson City. 

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