Scott Sifton

Richard Prescott Sifton Jr. (born May 7, 1974)[1][2] is an American politician and lawyer who was a member of the Missouri Senate for the 1st district from 2013 to 2021. Sifton took office in 2013 after defeating incumbent Republican Senator Jim Lembke in a close election.[3] Sifton was a candidate in the 2022 U.S. Senate election in Missouri, but later withdrew.

Scott Sifton
Sifton in 2012
Member of the Missouri Senate
from the 1st district
In office
January 9, 2013 – January 6, 2021
Preceded byJim Lembke
Succeeded byDoug Beck
Member of the Missouri House of Representatives
from the 96th district
In office
January 5, 2011 – January 9, 2013
Preceded byPatricia M. Yaeger
Succeeded byMike Leara
Personal details
Born
Richard Prescott Sifton Jr.

(1974-05-07) May 7, 1974
Political partyDemocratic
Residence(s)Affton, Missouri, U.S.
EducationTruman State University (BA)
University of Michigan (JD)

Early life and education

Sifton grew up in Kansas City, Missouri and graduated from Truman State University in 1996, where he served as Student Senate President and was a founding member of the Truman chapter of Beta Theta Pi.[4] Sifton received his Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School in 1999.[4] His first political experience came working for President Bill Clinton's re-election campaign in 1996 and he worked on a state bus tour for Missouri Governor Mel Carnahan.[5] During law school he clerked for then-Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon.[5]

Career

Before being elected to office, Sifton worked in the Missouri Attorney General's office as a special prosecutor, focusing on public corruption, senior fraud, nursing home patient neglect, methamphetamine manufacturing and defending against criminal appeals.[6]

Sifton also served on the Affton School Board from 2001 to 2010.[5] He first ran for the Missouri House of Representatives in 2002, losing to Republican incumbent Kathlyn Fares of the 91st district by 9,463 votes (57.55%) to 6,981 (42.45%).[7] He ran again in 2010 to succeeding term-limited Democrat Patricia M. Yaeger of the 96th district. In the general election, he defeated Republican nominee Anthony Leech, a retired communications manager and Cool Valley local officeholder[8][9] by 5,655 votes (58.20%) to 4,062 (41.80%).[10]

Sifton served in the State House from 2011 to 2013. He did not run for re-election in 2012, instead running for the State Senate. He faced fellow State Representative Sue Schoemehl in the Democratic primary.[11] Schoemehl, more socially conservative, was endorsed by Missouri Right to Life for supporting government restrictions to abortion access. Sifton opposes increasing restrictions and was endorsed by the Missouri chapter of NARAL Pro-Choice America.[11] Sifton contrasted his refusal to accept any gifts, meals or entertainment from lobbyists with Schoemehl's willingness to accept them.[11] He defeated Schoemehl by 6,720 votes (54.93%) to 5,513 (45.07%).[12] He faced Republican incumbent Jim Lembke in the general election, defeating him by 45,689 votes (50.91%) to 44,055 (49.09%).[13]

In the Senate, Sifton played an integral role in filibustering a bill that mandated a 72-hour waiting period for women seeking abortions.[6] He has also fought against attempts to implement anti-union "right-to-work" laws in Missouri.[14]

In November 2014, Sifton declared his intent to run for Attorney General of Missouri in the 2016 election.[6] However, he withdrew from the race the following July and chose to run for re-election, instead.[14] On November 8, 2016, Sifton was re-elected with 53% of the vote over former Webster Groves city councilman Randy Jotte who had 43,227 votes to Sifton's 48,926 votes.[15]

On February 8, 2021, he announced a run in the 2022 U.S. Senate election in Missouri.,[16] but later withdrew from the race.

Personal life

Sifton resides in Affton, Missouri with his two children. They attend Webster Groves Presbyterian Church, where Sifton served previously as Chairman of the Deacons.[17]

References
  1. 2011-2012 Official Manual - Blue Book (PDF). p. 130. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  2. "Richard "Scott" Prescott Sifton, Jr. - Access Missouri".
  3. Corrigan, Don (November 9, 2012). "Mo. Senate Seats Goes To Scott Sifton". Webster-Kirkwood Times. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
  4. "2009 Alumni of the Year: Stacey (George) Sifton ('00) & Scott Sifton ('96)". Truman State University. Retrieved 8 June 2016.
  5. "St. Louis area senator may run for AG". The Rolla Daily News. September 22, 2014. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  6. "Sifton Jumps Into 2016 Contest For Missouri Attorney General". St. Louis Public Radio. November 9, 2014. Retrieved November 14, 2014.
  7. "MO State House 091 2002". OurCampaigns. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  8. "Web exclusive: Leech, Sifton vie for District 96 state House seat". Call Newspapers. October 20, 2010. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  9. "Sifton, Leech Vie For Seat Vacated By Pat Yaeger". South County Times. October 22, 2010. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  10. "MO State House 096 2010". OurCampaigns. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  11. "Democrats Sifton, Schoemehl vie for nomination to challenge Lembke". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. July 22, 2012. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  12. "MO State Senate 01 - D Primary 2012". OurCampaigns. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  13. "MO State Senate 01 2012". OurCampaigns. Retrieved November 12, 2014.
  14. Mannies, Jo (July 30, 2015). "Sifton drops out as 2016 Democratic candidate for Missouri attorney general". KWMU. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
  15. "General Election - Official Final Results". St. Louis County Board of Elections. November 22, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2017.
  16. "Missouri state lawmaker to challenge US Sen. Roy Blunt". AP NEWS. February 8, 2021. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  17. Scott Sifton official website, scottsiftonmo.com; accessed November 25, 2014.
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