Missouri lawmaker who spread antisemitism, conspiracy theories announces run for governor

A Missouri Democratic lawmaker launched a campaign for governor on Monday following her removal from the House Democratic Caucus after she promoted conspiracy theories on social media and made antisemitic comments against a former political opponent.

State Rep. Sarah Unsicker, a Democrat from Shrewsbury in St. Louis County, posted the announcement on her website, a lengthy speech in which she said she was punished by Democrats for “pointing out cracks” in government.

“I am running for Governor of Missouri because we must have justice. We must have security in our elections. We must have children who can grow up safe, healthy, and happy,” Unsicker said in the speech, arguing that “Missouri’s democracy has lost its way.”

Unsicker dropped out of the race for Missouri attorney general last month. Missouri House Democrats then ousted Unsicker from their caucus after she made an antisemitic attack against her former Democratic opponent, Elad Gross, a former assistant state attorney general who is Jewish.

The attack followed a bizarre string of controversies on social media. In two separate tweet threads, Unsicker posted a photo of herself with Charles Johnson, a right wing activist whom the Anti-Defamation League condemns as a “Holocaust denier and alt-right troll” who asserted in a since-deleted 2017 Reddit post that the number of Jewish people killed in the Holocaust was false.

Unsicker also claimed without evidence “credible allegations recently regarding foreign interference in elections in Missouri” and forwarded this allegation to House lawmakers and to Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft.

Ashcroft, who is running for governor in 2024, refuted the claim last month, saying in a statement that his office has “not been provided any evidence that even remotely relates to Missouri election interference.”

Unsicker’s paperwork with the Missouri Ethics Commission does not yet reflect her pivot to the governor’s race. If she files to run in the Democratic primary, she will face House Minority Leader Crystal Quade and businessman Mike Hamra, both from Springfield.

Quade led the effort to remove Unsicker from the Democratic caucus and had previously removed her from all of her committee assignments. House Democrats said in a statement last month that the caucus was “dedicated to the values of inclusiveness, tolerance and respect.”