Bryant Wolfin, the incumbent republican candidate for the 145th district of the Missouri house of representatives, won over democrat Carl Kinsky in last week’s midterm election. Wolfin received 65% of the vote in Ste. Genevieve county and 75% of the vote in Perry County.
“I have to thank the voters of the 145th District for putting their trust in me for at least another two years,” Wolfin said. “I am incredibly honored and grateful that they would do so again. We’ve put in the work, we’ve preached constitutional values, which I wholeheartedly believe our district believes in, as well and that of limited government to try to keep government as close to the people as possible.”
“I want to congratulate Mr. Kinski on a great campaign,” he added. “He worked extremely hard in an extremely red district. I was not expecting to have to work as hard as I did, me and my wife were basically knocking doors until the very last day and it was because he was pushing me and keeping me on him and his supporters.”
Wolfin said that while he is pleased with the result and the opportunity to continue working in the house, he and his fellow republicans have their work cut out for them after a midterm that saw a lot of the state and country swing to the left.
“It was a devastating loss across the state and across the nation but I think we understand why,” he said. “Federal policy had a lot to do with it. But even here at the state level, if you look at the losses the republican party’s had over the last couple years you can see there is a disconnect which is what I’ve been preaching since I ran my very first campaign, that Jefferson City is disconnected from Missourians as a whole and their only option right now is to vote the other party. I don’t think the other party would do any better because we were under their rule and then we switched to republican, but the reality is we have to become more connected to Missourians as a whole. I know I’ve tried to do that in my first two years of making sure that I’m preaching the values of our district, which is why I’m loud in Jefferson City.”
Wolfin said he believes the biggest issue facing Missourians on average currently is cost of living, with the cost of child care being important to him on a personal level, as well as gas prices, and the costs of owning and operating small businesses. He said that while a lot of these issues are more federal issues, things can be done at the state level to help, such as providing tax breaks that have a closer effect on the average person.
“The tax breaks that we have given have been capital gains tax breaks, of course I’m a supporter of that but the reality is, it doesn’t touch the average everyday person,” he said. “That is more for folks that are selling land, and business owners. If we’re gonna look for tax breaks, we’re going to be needing to look for the things that affect the people’s pockets now, like your average day voter, not your special interests and not your wealthiest folks in Missouri.”
Wolfin said in regards to the local level within the district, he is still eager to take on the challenge of the budget in Ste. Genevieve, which is an issue that both he and his opponents agree should be a top priority. He added that he also is looking to secure additional funding for the National Veterans Memorial Wall in Perryville, and to work with commissioners on regulating potential data centers should they try to come to the district.
“I don’t want state-wide regulations, I want to be able to give the power to the local governments to be able to regulate and basically govern the way that their people want them to govern,” Wolfin explained. “Whether that’s a full moratorium or whether that’s just specifically putting them in certain areas. Non-planning and zoning counties right now have no authority to do any of that, so we need to be able to at least allow them to create some ordinances without them becoming planning and zoning. That way they can protect the citizens of their counties.”
Wolfin said that anybody, regardless of party affiliation or if they support him or not, is welcome to ask him questions, and he is committed to listening to all concerns from the citizens he will be representing for at least another two years.
“I will give my number out to anybody, I will come to your house, I will do zoom calls or do whatever I need to do to hear you out,” he said. “We may not agree on everything but I promise that I will be there for you to at least hear you out, and our office door is always open to anybody.”
Wolfin said he expects to run again at the end of this next term and continue his political career, but only if it still allows him and his family to maintain a healthy work and life balance. His second term officially begins in January 2027.
