Sen. Bill Eigel will be the third Missouri Republican to enter the race for governor

The Weldon Spring Republican has been critical of Senate Republican leadership since he entered the Missouri legislature in 2017.
The Missouri Republican primary for governor is about to get more crowded.

Sen. Bill Eigel of Weldon Spring is slated to officially enter the GOP race to succeed Gov. Mike Parson on Friday afternoon. Eigel opened an exploratory committee a number of months ago but said he will make his statewide plans official at St. Charles County Regional Airport.

“I’ve spent the last year beating the bushes, and the answer to my search couldn’t be more clear: Missourians are tired of sending uniparty Republicans to Jefferson City that hold Missouri back from the big conservative wins that all of us are desperate for,” Eigel said in a statement before his announcement. “It’s time to send a bold, conservative reformer who will be a champion for the people of this great state and bring a reckoning to the Jefferson City Swamp.”

Eigel is an Air Force veteran who owned a residential and commercial remodeling business. He first ran for office in 2016, narrowly defeating two Republican candidates in a race to represent portions of St. Charles County.