Andrew Bailey is hoping to win his first full term as Missouri’s attorney general after being appointed to the position in November 2022 by Gov. Mike Parson (Photo provided by Andrew Bailey’s campaign).
Republican Andrew Bailey will remain Missouri attorney general for another four years, defeating Democrat Elad Gross.
With 90% of precincts reporting to the secretary of state’s office, Bailey led Gross 58% to 40%.
Bailey has held the office since November 2022, when he was appointed attorney general by GOP Gov. Mike Parson after his predecessor won a U.S. Senate seat. At the time, Bailey was Parson’s general counsel and had never run for elected office.
Bailey has vowed to continue fighting the Biden administration and strengthening consumer protection.
His most high-profile cases since becoming attorney general include twice suing to block federal student loan forgiveness, and carrying forward a lawsuit alleging the Biden administration was censoring conservatives online by pressuring social media companies.
But he’s also faced accusations — from both Democrats and Republicans — of corruption, incompetence and grandstanding, with his critics alleging he’s more interested in scoring appearances on Fox News than effectively running the sprawling office or winning in the courtroom.
An Army veteran, Bailey has said much of his career has been shaped by his time as an assistant prosecutor and working in a county juvenile office in Missouri. He and his wife went on to foster and then adopt three of their four children.
“I grew up thinking working with police to lock bad guys up was about the coolest job on Earth,” Bailey told The Independent in July. “And that’s really all I ever wanted to do.”
After completing law school at the University of Missouri, Bailey worked as an assistant prosecutor in Warren County where Bailey said he was particularly moved by his interactions with victims. But his additional role as attorney for the county juvenile office – which Bailey said he took on to help make ends meet at home — changed his life.
He watched children come in and out of the system. He said the number of children who didn’t have a home to go to on Christmas broke his heart. Eventually, he and his wife decided to foster and then adopt three of their four children, who now range in age from 2 to 11.
“Andrew is one of those people that has not only put his money where his mouth is on those topics,” said James Lawson, his longtime friend and campaign manager. “He’s a guy that’s pulling kids out of the foster system.”