Jason Hancock
Editor, The Missouri IndependentJason Hancock has been writing about Missouri since 2011, most recently as lead political reporter for The Kansas City Star. He has spent nearly two decades covering politics and policy for news organizations across the Midwest, and has a track record of exposing government wrongdoing and holding elected officials accountable.
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Graves, 62, has represented Missouri’s 6th District since 2001. A state lawmaker, a nationally syndicated radio host and a Kansas City Council member are among the possible candidates for the Republican nomination. -
Both Republicans and Democrats voted against a bill aimed at reviving Missouri’s Second Amendment Preservation Act, which would ban the enforcement of federal gun restrictions. The U.S. Supreme Court denied Missouri's attempt to revive the law. -
Missouri state Rep. Elizabeth Fuchs, a St. Louis Democrat, went public last week about having her drink spiked during last year's legislative session. House Speaker Jon Patterson has pledged support for her bill increasing penalties for those substances. -
A Republican judge in Cole County on Thursday ruled that the ballot summary must be rewritten for a proposed constitutional amendment that he said would confuse voters, making it much harder for Missourians to amend the constitution through citizen initiative petitions. -
The decision by U.S. District Judge John Ross lands as Missouri lawmakers debate whether to legalize the video slot machines. Meanwhile, Attorney General Catherine Hanaway has vowed to shut them down. -
Missouri state Rep. Cecelie Williams said the messages resurfaced trauma from past abuse. Lawmakers voted 138–10 to punish Dean for sending Williams obscene and unwanted texts, but stopped short of expulsion. -
In 1914, the Missouri Supreme Court held that once citizens submit signatures, the challenged law is automatically suspended until voters decide its fate. -
The group People Not Politicians has reportedly collected 200,000 signatures — almost 100,000 more than needed — to get a measure on the 2026 ballot. The ballot measure would give Missourians a chance to vote on the Trump-backed map that could deny 5th District Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, one of two democrats in the state, his seat. -
The porn industry’s largest website, Pornhub, said Missouri's new policy requiring explicit sites to verify that users are adults is a privacy risk. Kansas was blacked out last year over a similar law. -
A Missouri anti-redistricting group gathered more than 200,000 signatures to force a vote on the recently redrawn congressional map. Now, national Republican groups are investing $100,000 to defend the map.
