Bill restoring presidential primaries passes out of House committee

By Aidan Pittman

Missouri News Network

Legislation that would reinstate presidential primaries in Missouri passed out of the House Special Committee on Public Policy on Tuesday in a bipartisan 6-0 vote.

The bill, HB 2618, sponsored by Rep. Ben Baker, R-Neosho, comes after the Republican presidential caucuses in March, the first in the state since 2012. Party officials and participants complained about the lack of public participation. Democrats held a limited primary.

The presidential primaries were eliminated as part of a 2022 law changing voting procedures.

Two amendments relating to residency of candidates for Congress were added to the bill. The amendments require that candidates running in a district which has not had its boundaries changed within 24 months must have lived within the district for at least 12 months. For districts whose boundaries were changed less than 24 months before an election, the residency requirement is reduced to three months.

Two other House bills restoring the primary, HB 1525 and HB 2895, face votes in a separate House committee on Wednesday. A similar Senate bill has passed committee.