Across the country, primaries are taking place, with candidates making their cases for why they should represent a new era in politics. State representative candidate Tori Schafer seeks to be at the forefront of that with her campaign.
“One of the main reasons I’m running is because I believe Missourians deserve to have politicians in Jefferson City that reflect their values and respect their vote,” Schafer said.
Schafer is running to fill the seat vacated by the retirement of two-term Representative Ian Mackey, seeking to bring her American Civil Liberties Union advocacy to the political scene, placing emphasis on issues and ideas.
“My mom and dad are of two different political parties, [and so growing up] I learned to argue the issue, which is why I started out my legal career at the American Civil Liberties Union, because it’s a nonpartisan organization that just talks about the issues,” Schafer said.
Schafer’s childhood experience with politics motivated her to become a lawyer at the ACLU and gave her a platform to advocate for the issues she cared about, including reproductive freedom in 2024.
“I have worked hard in the past couple years to put forward a ballot initiative that put the right to reproductive freedom in our state’s constitution,” Schafer said.
As well as being part of the movement to bring Amendment 3 to voters in 2024, Schafer also works on the People Not Politicians campaign, an organization dedicated to overturning the recently enacted bill to gerrymander Missouri in favor of Republicans.
Schafer’s vision for her issue-focused campaign is also intertwined with affordability, stemming from her experiences participating in 4-H—a youth development organization—as a teenager.
“I grew up going to 4-H [which has] a very community-centered approach, and making sure your neighbors are supported, making sure your neighbors have housing and groceries.” Schafer said, “I think that’s a value that Missourians have regardless of political party. Whether you’re Democrat, Republican or Independent, you want the best for your family and the best for our state.”
The bipartisan push to help people across the state is something Schafer believes in, emphasizing productive conversations to achieve real solutions.
“It’s really important to reach across the aisle, make headway where you can, and bring back the respect that politics is missing. Respect of other’s different values [is essential to] take down the temperature so that we can talk about the real issue affecting Americans,” Schafer said.
All of Schafer’s policies stem from her love for the state of Missouri.
“I love Missouri so much, and I want to raise a family here. I want to be able to have my kids here and [for] my kids to go to public schools in the area. I want to work towards having a state that can [give] a better future for Missouri families,” Schafer said.
