Elaine Gannon

Elaine Gannon
Elaine Gannon
Member of the Missouri Senate; from the 3rd district
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; January 6, 2021
Preceded by	Gary Romine
Member of the Missouri House of Representatives; from the 115th district
	In office; January 9, 2013 – January 6, 2021
Preceded by	Joseph Fallert Jr. (redistricting)
Succeeded by	Cyndi Buchheit-Courtway
Personal details
Born	February 2, 1953 (age 71); Bonne Terre, Missouri
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Dennis
Children	2
Residence	De Soto, Missouri
Profession	Teacher

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Elaine Gannon (born February 2, 1953) is an American politician. She is a member of the Missouri Senate, representing District 3. She is also a former member of the Missouri House of Representatives, having served from 2013 to 2021. She is a member of the Republican Party.^[1]^[2]

Missouri State Senate

Elected in 2020, she preceded fellow Republican Gary Romine, after serving eight years in the Missouri House of Representatives.

Committee assignments

Education
General Laws
Progress and Development
Seniors, Families, Veterans and Military Affairs, Vice-Chairwoman
Joint Committee on Education
Joint Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect
Joint Committee on Legislative Research
Missouri Assistive Technology Advisory Council

Views and response

Gannon sponsored a measure for Senate consideration in December 2022, which was aimed at extending Medicaid health insurance coverage for low-income mothers, from the current sixty days to twelve months following the birth of a baby. Bipartisan efforts to increase postnatal coverage for low-income families have been ongoing, with two bills failing earlier in 2022.^[3]

In another bipartisan position, Gannon spoke against the actions of a group of Republican senators. The men, calling themselves the "Conservative Caucus", were blocking debate and delaying procedures to adopt a new congressional map. The redistricting was a bipartisan proposal which had already passed the house, but the Conservative Caucus faction obstructed action on it for several days. Speaking as part of a group of bipartisan women senators who were critical of the hardliner's intransigence and dominance of the debate, Gannon noted: "I think it's time that we the women of the Senate say what we want to say".^[4]

During a March, 2022, Senate Education committee hearing, Gannon attracted negative attention when she asked a 14-year-old witness, who identified as transgender and non-binary: "Are you going to go through the procedure?". The enquiry caused "an eruption of shouts", according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and "audible groans", according to Vice News. She was also criticized for her approach throughout the hearing, where she used expressions such as "he-she" in referring to transgender persons. The Senator later apologized for the inappropriate question. The teenage witness and the parent of the 14-year-old were critical of both Gannon and the hearing, which had been called to hear views on the proposed "Save Women's Sports Act". The bill would restrict children's access to sporting activity, disallowing participation in competitions by individuals whose assigned-sex at birth differs from the sex designated for the sporting activity.^[5]^[6]

Personal life

She was born in Bonne Terre, and lives in De Soto, Missouri, with her husband, Dennis.

Electoral history

State representative

Missouri House of Representatives Election, November 6, 2012, District 115^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Elaine Freeman Gannon	6,909	50.86%
	Democratic	Rich McCane	6,676	49.14%

Missouri House of Representatives Election, November 4, 2014, District 115^[7]
	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Republican	Elaine Freeman Gannon	5,055	63.89%	+13.03
Democratic	Dan Darian	2,473	31.26%	−17.88
Constitution	Jerry Dollar Jr.	384	4.85%	+4.85

Missouri House of Representatives Election, November 8, 2016, District 115^[7]
	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Republican	Elaine Freeman Gannon	10,110	68.64%	+4.75
Democratic	Barbara Stocker	3,972	26.97%	−4.29
Libertarian	Charles D. Bigelow	646	4.39%	+4.39

Missouri House of Representatives Election, November 6, 2018, District 115^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Elaine Freeman Gannon	10,598	100.00%	+31.36

State Senate

Missouri's 3rd State Senate District, Republican Primary, August 4, 2020^[7]
	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Republican	Elaine Gannon	10,646	42.09%	N/A
Republican	Joshua Barrett	9,211	36.42%	N/A
Republican	Kent Scism	5,437	21.49%	N/A

Missouri's 3rd State Senate District, General Election, November 3, 2020^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	Elaine Gannon	65,686	100%
	Republican hold

References

^ "Elaine Gannon". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
^ "Missouri House of Representatives". Archived from the original on 2016-09-27. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
^ Erickson, Kurt (December 6, 2022). "Bipartisan effort underway to extend health coverage for new moms in Missouri". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on December 24, 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
^ Suntrup, Jack (February 9, 2022). "Frustration mounts in Missouri Senate as hard-liners block redistricting action for third day". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
^ "GOP Lawmaker Asks 14-Year-Old Trans Kid If They're Getting the 'Procedure'". www.vice.com. 17 March 2022. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
^ Zokovitch, Grace (March 2, 2022). "Trans athlete bill up for debate again among Missouri lawmakers". St Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "All Results; Election Results". Missouri Secretary of State. Retrieved April 20, 2020.

External links

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[1] "Elaine Gannon". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved April 27, 2015.

[2] "Missouri House of Representatives". Archived from the original on 2016-09-27. Retrieved 2016-09-26.

[3] Erickson, Kurt (December 6, 2022). "Bipartisan effort underway to extend health coverage for new moms in Missouri". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on December 24, 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2023.

[4] Suntrup, Jack (February 9, 2022). "Frustration mounts in Missouri Senate as hard-liners block redistricting action for third day". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2023.

[5] "GOP Lawmaker Asks 14-Year-Old Trans Kid If They're Getting the 'Procedure'". www.vice.com. 17 March 2022. Retrieved 2022-03-18.

[6] Zokovitch, Grace (March 2, 2022). "Trans athlete bill up for debate again among Missouri lawmakers". St Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved 11 January 2023.

[MOSoS-7] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "All Results; Election Results". Missouri Secretary of State. Retrieved April 20, 2020.

[1]

v t e Members of the Missouri Senate
102nd General Assembly (2023-2024) President of the Senate Mike Kehoe (R) President pro tempore Caleb Rowden (R) Majority Leader Cindy O'Laughlin (R) Minority Leader Doug Beck (D)
▌Doug Beck (D) ▌Nick Schroer (R) ▌Elaine Gannon (R) ▌Karla May (D) ▌Steven Roberts (D) ▌Mike Bernskoetter (R) ▌Vacant ▌Mike Cierpiot (R) ▌Barbara Washington (D) ▌Travis Fitzwater (R) ▌Vacant ▌Rusty Black (R) ▌Angela Mosley (D) ▌Brian Williams (D) ▌Andrew Koenig (R) ▌Justin Brown (R) ▌Vacant ▌Cindy O'Laughlin (R) ▌Caleb Rowden (R) ▌Curtis Trent (R) ▌Denny Hoskins (R) ▌Mary Elizabeth Coleman (R) ▌Bill Eigel (R) ▌Tracy McCreery (D) ▌Jason Bean (R) ▌Ben Brown (R) ▌Holly Thompson Rehder (R) ▌Sandy Crawford (R) ▌Mike Moon (R) ▌Lincoln Hough (R) ▌Rick Brattin (R) ▌Jill Carter (R) ▌Vacant ▌Tony Luetkemeyer (R)
▌Republican (23) ▌Democratic (7) ▌Vacant (4) Missouri General Assembly House Senate List of past Assemblies