JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – David Wasinger is still adjusting to the Missouri Capitol. Less than a year into his first term as lieutenant governor, the Republican continues to navigate waters that are unfamiliar to the first-time officeholder.
“Just drinking out of three fire hoses,” Wasinger said during an interview in his office. “You know, we had a lot to learn.”
Last November, Wasinger ran on a political outsider message, winning a close primary election against two Republican state senators. He went on to win the general election and was sworn in this past January.
Wasinger’s primary duty as lieutenant governor is serving as the President of the Missouri Senate, presiding over the deliberative body. Despite the senate being rich in its history and rulemaking, Wasinger said he came in and found it to be very inefficient.
“In large part because of the Senate rules,” he said. “I won’t point a finger at any particular senator, I think it’s because of these Senate rules that are so cumbersome and so archaic that they don’t want to change.”
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He contends that because of the way the Senate operates, it’s hard to pass “common sense, conservative” legislation.
Wasinger said he isn’t afraid of a fight, spending his legal career “taking on the establishment,” and said that’s why voters elected him.
“I think the electorate liked that,” he said. “Someone with the courage—a little like Trump, you know—who’s got the courage and the backbone to take on…the special interests and the lobbyists.”
Asked about his political future–the last two governors, including Gov. Mike Kehoe has the lieutenant’s post before becoming governor–Wasinger said he is still getting to know the lay of the land and that his focus is on the four-year term he was elected to.
Wasinger said he is the first statewide office holder from Hannibal, where he was born and raised. His family later moved to St. Louis.
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