Sarah Unsicker
Sarah Unsicker | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Missouri House of Representatives | |
| In office January 4, 2017 – January 8, 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Jeanne Kirkton |
| Succeeded by | Ray Reed |
| Constituency | 83rd (2017–2021) 91st (2021–2025) |
| Personal details | |
| Party | Democratic |
| Education | Washington University School of Law (JD) |
Sarah Unsicker is an American politician who served in the Missouri House of Representatives from the 83rd and 91st districts from 2017 to 2025. She was a member of the Democratic caucus until her expulsion for anti-Semitism in 2023.
Early life and education
Unsicker graduated from Washington University School of Law with a Juris Doctor in 2005.[1][2]
Career
Jeanne Kirkton, a member of the Missouri House of Representatives from the 91st district, declined to run for reelection in 2016.[3] Unsicker won the Democratic nomination without opposition and defeated Republican nominee Greg Mueller.[4][5] She was reelected in 2018,[6] and reelected from the 91st district in 2020[7] and 2022.[8] Representatives being limited to four terms prevented Unsicker from running for reelection after 2022.[9]
On March 8, 2023, Unsicker announced that she would seek the Democratic nomination for Missouri Attorney General in the 2024 election.[10] Unsicker was removed from her position on four committees on December 7, 2023, after she repeatedly posted a photo on social media of herself with far-right activist and Holocaust denier Charles C. Johnson.[11] She withdrew from the attorney general race on December 14, but made anti-Semitic remarks against her opponent Elad Gross in the post announcing her withdrawal.[12]
The Democratic caucus voted to expel her on December 21, 2023.[13] Speaker Dean Plocher appointed Unsicker to the Special Committee on Government Accountability in 2024, and declined to answer why he chose to do so.[14] On January 8, 2024, Unsicker announced at the United States Capitol that she would run for governor and Eric Garland, a conspiracy theorist, was her campaign manager.[15] Her filing fee was rejected by the Democrats on February 27, which prevented her from running in the Democratic gubernatorial primary.[16]
Political positions
Unsicker opposed the expansion of charter schools in 2017.[17] She proposed the creation of a committee to study Missouri's maternal mortality rate in 2018, but the house voted 78 to 49 against it.[18] She opposed an eight-week abortion ban passed in 2019, stating that "We will be killing women with this bill".[19] She was critical of legislation by Mary Elizabeth Coleman that would allow private lawsuits against people who aid in the facilitation of an abortion.[20] She proposed legislation to end the usage of capital punishment in 2023.[21]
Electoral history
| Year | Office | Party | Primary | General | Result | Ref. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | % | P. | Total | % | P. | ||||||
| 2016 | Missouri House of Representatives (83rd) | Democratic | 3,530 | 100% | 1st | 12,287 | 56.50% | 1st | Won | [4][5] | |
| 2018 | Missouri House of Representatives (83rd) | Democratic | 8,482 | 100% | 1st | 13,539 | 65.68% | 1st | Won | [22][6] | |
| 2020 | Missouri House of Representatives (91st) | Democratic | 8,471 | 100% | 1st | 18,156 | 100% | 1st | Won | [23][7] | |
| 2022 | Missouri House of Representatives (91st) | Democratic | 4,581 | 100% | 1st | 11,078 | 75.90% | 1st | Won | [24][8] | |
References
- ^ Sarah Unsicker 2016.
- ^ Sarah Unsicker.
- ^ Suntrup 2016.
- ^ a b Primary 2016, p. 32.
- ^ a b Election 2016, p. 21.
- ^ a b Election 2018, p. 20.
- ^ a b Election 2020, p. 20.
- ^ a b Election 2022, p. 13.
- ^ Holleman 2023.
- ^ Keller 2023.
- ^ Erickson 2023.
- ^ Bayless 2023.
- ^ Suntrup 2023.
- ^ Suntrup 2024.
- ^ Shrewsbury state rep pivots to governor's race 2024.
- ^ Ballentine 2024.
- ^ Kull 2017.
- ^ Marso 2018.
- ^ Huguelet 2019.
- ^ Shorman 2022.
- ^ Moore 2023.
- ^ Primary 2018, p. 35.
- ^ Primary 2020, p. 32.
- ^ Primary 2022, p. 30.
Works cited
Election reports
- "2016 Missouri Election Results" (PDF). Secretary of State of Missouri. Archived from the original on February 28, 2025.
- "2016 Missouri Primary Results" (PDF). Secretary of State of Missouri. Archived from the original on February 28, 2025.
- "2018 Missouri Election Results" (PDF). Secretary of State of Missouri. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 1, 2025.
- "2018 Missouri Primary Results" (PDF). Secretary of State of Missouri. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 1, 2025.
- "2020 Missouri Election Results" (PDF). Secretary of State of Missouri. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 1, 2025.
- "2020 Missouri Primary Results" (PDF). Secretary of State of Missouri. Archived from the original on August 16, 2025.
- "2022 Missouri Election Results" (PDF). Secretary of State of Missouri. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 1, 2025.
- "2022 Missouri Primary Results" (PDF). Secretary of State of Missouri. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 20, 2025.
News
- "Sarah Unsicker". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. July 22, 2016. p. V7 – via Newspapers.com.
- Ballentine, Summer (February 27, 2024). "Exiled Missouri lawmaker blocked from running for governor as a Democrat". Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 1, 2024.
- Bayless, Kacen (December 18, 2023). "Embattled MO Democrat Unsicker drops out of AG race". The Kansas City Star. p. A1 – via Newspapers.com.
- Erickson, Kurt (December 9, 2023). "Local state lawmaker loses House committee posts". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. A8 – via Newspapers.com.
- Holleman, Joe (March 16, 2023). "Marketing firm on weed tax also did pandemic publicity for county". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. A2 – via Newspapers.com.
- Huguelet, Austin (May 22, 2019). "Ban". Springfield News-Leader. p. A1 – via Newspapers.com.
- Keller, Rudi (March 13, 2023). "Democrates join race for Missouri A.G." Columbia Daily Tribune. p. A1 – via Newspapers.com.
- Kull, Katie (March 17, 2017). "Missouri House passes charter expansion bill". St. Joseph News-Press. p. A11 – via Newspapers.com.
- Marso, Andy (June 4, 2018). "Despite Missouri being among worst for maternal mortality, lawmakers say no to study". The Kansas City Star. p. A1 – via Newspapers.com.
- Moore, Katie (December 5, 2023). "Death Penalty". The Kansas City Star. p. A7 – via Newspapers.com.
- Shorman, Jonathan (March 31, 2022). "Mo. measure on lawsuits over aiding abortions doesn't advance". The Kansas City Star. p. A5 – via Newspapers.com.
- Suntrup, Jack (April 5, 2016). "Democrats aren't running for many state seats". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. A6 – via Newspapers.com.
- Suntrup, Jack (December 22, 2023). "Democrats oust Unsicker from House caucus". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. A1 – via Newspapers.com.
- Suntrup, Jack (January 12, 2024). "Sarah Unsicker named to committee by House speaker". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. A2 – via Newspapers.com.
- Suntrup, Jack (January 10, 2024). "Shrewsbury state rep pivots to governor's race". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. A2 – via Newspapers.com.
Web
- "About Sarah Unsicker". Sarah Unsicker. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022.