Missouri Gov. Parson will announce state’s next attorney general Wednesday as Schmitt departs

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Wednesday will announce his pick for the state’s next attorney general to succeed Senator-elect Eric Schmitt.

The upcoming appointment will jumpstart the political career of whomever the Republican governor picks. The attorney general’s office has long been a political stepping stone in Missouri and the pick is widely viewed as a political golden ticket.

Multiple sources familiar with the appointment process told The Star that Parson has interviewed five potential candidates for the position and that Andrew Bailey, Parson’s general counsel, is the likely front-runner.

A Missouri Republican consultant told The Star Tuesday that Parson has been frustrated with attorneys general who have more of a national focus, adding that Parson interviewed the five individuals, including Bailey, before the Republican governor departed for an overseas trade mission earlier this month.

The other contenders for the position include former state Sen. Kurt Schaefer, a Columbia Republican, Tim Garrison, the former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, state Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, a Parkville Republican, and Christopher Limbaugh, who Parson appointed as associate circuit judge of the 19th Judicial Circuit, which serves Cole County.

Bailey, who is from Rhineland, has never held an elected office. He was hired as Parson’s general counsel last year after serving as deputy since 2019. Before working in the governor’s office, he was the general counsel for the Missouri Department of Corrections.

An Army veteran, Bailey also worked as assistant prosecuting attorney in Warren County and as an assistant attorney general.

While working as Parson’s general counsel, records revealed that Bailey helped draft talking points that Parson used to argue that a St. Louis Post-Dispatch journalist should be prosecuted for uncovering a security flaw on the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education website. Parson’s effort to prosecute the journalist was roundly criticized by free press advocates and the Cole County prosecutor declined to pursue charges against the journalist in February.

Limbaugh, the associate circuit judge, had previously served as Parson’s general counsel. Before that, he was the elected prosecuting attorney of Cape Girardeau County. He is also the son of a federal court judge and cousin to the late conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh.

Schaefer served in the Missouri Senate from 2009 to 2017. In 2016, he ran against Josh Hawley for Missouri attorney general but was defeated in the Republican primary. He now works as a lobbyist and lawyer with Lathrop GPM.

Garrison resigned from his position as U.S. attorney last year after President Joe Biden took office. He is a Marine Corps veteran who continues to serve in the Marine Corps Reserves. Before being appointed U.S. Attorney by former President Donald Trump in 2018, he worked as a federal prosecutor in Springfield.

He is a partner at the Husch Blackwell law firm in Springfield. While serving as U.S. Attorney, he led several initiatives to target violent crime, drug trafficking, and firearms offenses, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Luetkemeyer, an attorney who was elected to the Senate in 2018, made headlines this year when he successfully passed legislation that forced Kansas City to spend more on its police force. He is chairman of the Missouri Senate Judiciary Committee and sits on the chamber’s budget writing panel.

The Star’s Jonathan Shorman contributed reporting.