Eric Burlison wins Republican nomination for southwest 7th district U.S. House race

Eric Burlison won the Republican nomination for the 7th district U.S. House race on Tuesday, setting up what is likely to be a lopsided race in November.

The Battlefield state senator touted himself as the leading conservative in the Missouri legislature and vowed to head to Washington to "stand up for our southwest Missouri values."

Burlison earned 38 percent of the vote, emerging victorious in an eight-person GOP field that included his chief competitor, former Sen. Jay Wasson. In the deep-red 7th district, he will likely see few obstacles to victory in the general election against Democratic opponent Kristen Radaker-Sheafer.

"I ran as a conservative, I’m going to do everything I can to not let you down," Burlison told a crowd at a watch party Tuesday night in Ozark. "We’re going to fire Fauci. We’re going to stop all these crazy regulations, we’re going to return America to the great shining city on a hill it was always meant to be. It was always meant to be — we won!”

"I was blessed to grow up in southwest Missouri where you're taught that hard work and loving your neighbor and loving your god. You keep that in focus, everything else will fall in place. What's so amazing is that those values prevailed tonight."

Burlison has earned national attention while in Jefferson City as a leading proponent of the "Second Amendment Preservation Act." The 2021 state law nullifies federal gun statutes in Missouri and has been subject to criticism by law enforcement and litigation from both local jurisdictions and the U.S. Department of Justice.

More: Who's running? Where to vote? What to know about Missouri's Aug. 2 primary election

"If the federal government wants to enforce its own gun laws, then it is going to have to do so without the support of this state’s government," Burlison wrote in an op-ed after the law went into effect last year.

He proposed additional legislation this year that expanded protections for those who shoot in self-defense, calling it a protection against "rogue prosecutors who have an agenda against the Second Amendment." It was widely criticized by law enforcement and prosecutors, who dubbed it the "Make Murder Legal Act," and was killed by a bipartisan Senate committee vote.

Burlison has been endorsed and supported by the House Freedom Caucus, the anti-abortion group Missouri Right to Life, the Conservative Political Action Conference and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.

Wasson, meanwhile, garnered the support of a number of prominent elected officials and figures in the region, including Sen. Lincoln Hough of Springfield, Lt. Gov Mike Kehoe, several county sheriffs and the State Council of Fire Fighters.

U.S. House race: State senators past and present fight for Republican nomination

In an email sent to friends and acquaintances Sunday, a group of four prominent Springfield leaders endorsed Wasson in the race, along with state Sen. Lincoln Hough's re-election bid.

"If the last 50 years is a guide, our area is going Republican," wrote Tom Carlson, former Springfield mayor and publisher of the Springfield Daily Citizen. "Because of that, we believe the best choice for our community is to vote for Jay Wasson and Lincoln Hough."

The letter, which was sent from Carlson's personal email address and forwarded to the News-Leader, was co-signed by Springfield Mayor Ken McClure, Missouri State University President Clif Smart and former Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce President Jim Anderson. Anderson also sits on the board of directors for the Daily Citizen, which is housed at Missouri State.

Wasson, a member of the MSU board of governors, earned 22.5 percent of the vote, with 16,000 fewer votes than Burlison. Conservative pastor Alex Bryant earned almost 18 percent, and Sen. Mike Moon of Ash Grove garnered less than 9 percent.

Sporting a Burlison shirt at the campaign’s watch party at Vineyard Market in Ozark, voter Milly Moser said she supported the senator because she “knows he’s a constitutional conservative.”

“I support him because he is a constitutional conservative. He’s willing to take that hard stance and that’s what we need. I know he is an upstanding godly man,” Moser said.

Asked what issues were most important to her, Moser pointed to the protection of Second Amendment rights.

The competitive primary attracted significant outside spending as groups around the country backed various candidates.

The Club for Growth, a national conservative advocacy group that endorsed Burlison, spent about $1.7 million throughout the race, dedicating almost $1 million to TV ads criticizing Wasson for his past support of U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney. They also targeted his record in Jefferson City, such as a bill sponsoring tax exemptions for country clubs.

Conservative Americans PAC, a Massachusetts-based group formed last month, spent more than $1 million opposing Burlison and Moon, half of which was dedicated to TV ads. The PAC attacked the two senators for their votes against the state budget earlier this year.

In all, the race saw nearly $2.7 million in outside spending, more than $2 million of which was spent opposing candidates. Wasson's campaign spent about $1 million while Burlison's spent just shy of half a million, according to Federal Elections Commission filings.

Kristen Radaker-Sheafer wins Democratic nomination

The Democratic nominee, Radaker-Sheafer, has owned and operated a bakery in Joplin since 2016. She's running on a platform of making government more accountable and accessible, passing legislation benefiting small businesses, and focusing on local solutions within the district.

She's running because she felt there was a lack of communication and "investment in the community" from representatives. She posted a video to her YouTube channel walking through what a primary election is and how to vote.

After the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, she wrote in a post on her campaign website that her "primary desire is to remain true to who I am and what I believe while advocating for the well-being of others, whether or not I agree with them."

Galen Bacharier covers Missouri politics & government for the News-Leader. Contact him at gbacharier@news-leader.com, (573) 219-7440 or on Twitter @galenbacharier.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Eric Burlison wins 7th district U.S. House seat Republican nomination