The Candidates
There are two candidates for the State Senate from the 24th district. Barbara Fraser is the Democratic candidate. She has been on the St. Louis County Council since 2007, representing the 5th district. The Republican candidate is John Lamping. He has no previous experience in politics.

The Issues
Barbara Fraser’s main priorities are to facilitate business growth, while keeping the state fiscally solvent. She also has a commitment to education, believing that an educated workforce is necessary for Missouri to have a strong economy.

John Lamping’s goals are to increase job retraining programs, to attract businesses to the region. Moreover, he believes in keeping down college tuition while increasing funding for vocational schools and programs to create jobs and expand the tax base.

Barbara Fraser

Jobs
Wants to maintain a AAA bond rating for counties that will enable them to borrow money at favorable rates to encourage economic expansion
Seeks to extend loans to small businesses to accelerate business and job growth
Is in favor of providing workforce training programs

Education
Supports increasing early childhood education and increasing access to such services
Wants to fight for equitable education funding so that all of the school districts get similar funding
Is opposed to private school vouchers
Wants to freeze tuition at Missouri state universities and minimize cuts to university funding

Health Care
Is for expanding and improving health care for children
Desires to expand drug benefits for seniors
Wants to create health insurance exchanges to keep costs down
Seeks to expand Medicaid for the poor through federal government contribution

John Lamping

Jobs
Opposed to tax credits, saying that the savings from cutting the credits can be used to create economic development programs
Wants to increase funding for job training to help people learn the skills necessary for new employment opportunities
Seeks to foster an environment in which small businesses, particularly those focused on emerging technologies, can grow

Education
Wants to distribute more tax money to schools and divert it away from other programs
Vows to prevent the governor from using withholdings from local schools to balance the budget
Promises to prevent funding cuts for vocational school and community colleges
Will increase funding for job retraining programs

Health care
Seeks to increase access to health care for Missouri families
Wants to pass laws allowing consumers to purchase health insurance across state lines to increase competition
In favor of overhauling the Medicaid system and targeting fraud

Our take

Fraser. We prefer her stances on jobs, education and healthcare.