Democrat Crystal Quade shows off her roller derby skills in launch video for Missouri’s gubernatorial campaign
JEFFERSON CITY, Missouri (AP) — Missouri House Minority Leader Crystal Quade is running for governor and the Springfield Democrat made the announcement Sunday in campaign video of them parading on a roller derby track Skater bowls.
Quade, a social worker who was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2016, said she was not afraid of rough and violent politics while wearing elbow pads, wrist guards and a baby blue helmet. The 37-year-old says in the video her childhood of surviving on food stamps inspired her to go into public service.
“People say politics can be tough,” said Quade, who played on a derby team from 2010 to 2013. “I tell them I can handle it. When you come from nothing, you’ve been fighting the odds your whole life.”
Quade doesn’t spend the entire video doing the roller derby stretch, and the clip quickly transitions to scenes of her speaking to voters and laying out her campaign goals, which include recovery abortion rights in the state.
The governor’s seat is up for auction next year because current Republican governor Mike Parson is barred from running for re-election due to term limits.
Political cartoons
Quade wasted no time attacking Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, who has not yet announced his candidacy but is expected to be one of the top contenders. She said the Republican “is using fear to score cheap political points and divide us.”
“I’m not worried about bullies like Jay Ashcroft because Missouri has never seen a governor like me,” she said in the video.
Other top candidates for the office include Republican Lieutenant Governor Mike Kehoe and State Senator Bill Eigel.
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