A West Plains woman is embarking on a campaign to gather enough signatures to file as an independent candidate for Missouri’s 8th Congressional District.
Terry Hampton wants to challenge U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, a Republican, for the congressional seat in the November election. Smith won the seat last year to succeed longtime congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson after beating a crowded field of Republicans for his party’s nomination and later winning a special election over Missouri House member Steve Hodges, a Democrat, along with candidates from the Libertarian and Constitution parties.
For Hampton to be included on the ballot, she must collect and have certified the number of registered voter signatures equal to 2 percent of the total votes cast in the last November General Election in the 8th District, which is just more than 6,000.
Hampton, however, said in a news release she is looking to collect even more – like 10,000.
“I want to have plenty to spare and I want as many voters as possible to have an opportunity to be a part of something new and exciting,” she said in the release.
Another independent candidate, Thomas W. Brown of Fredericktown, also attempted to get on the June ballot in the 8th District, but came up short on signatures. Brown was a former boys’ basketball coach at Houston High School.
Hampton is a staff writer for the West Plains Daily Quill. According to the biography she sent, she graduated from West Plains High School, attended Missouri State University and has owned several businesses with her husband, including a printing company and a restaurant. She also has written two books, worked in public relations and for other local publications, and volunteers in community groups and organizations.
“To deal with the monumental issues facing our nation, local solutions are what we need and a new way of governance in which we all have a voice,” Hampton said in the release. “We have to stop allowing the power of money in government, the pull of politics and the influence of corporations to dictate the direction of the country. We need to speak for ourselves and elect independent representatives who know the meaning of service.”
Hampton said she plans to travel the district to get the signatures she needs to get on the ballot. She has launched campaign support pages on social media sites such as Facebook and has a website, HamptonforCongress.com.
In addition to Hampton, the only other person to announce intentions to run against Smith in November is Democrat Barbara Stocker, a retired research scientist from Jefferson County.
Republican Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder organized an exploratory committee last fall to look at a congressional run but later dropped the idea.
The 8th Congressional District includes 30 counties in southern and Southeast Missouri, including Texas County.