JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri State Representative Karla Eslinger, R-Wasola, will be running for the District 33 state senate seat.
The announcement to replace Sen. Mike Cunningham, who is barred for running reelection by term limits, came Thursday morning.
She hails from north Missouri but moved to Theodosia when she was in grade school. After graduating from the College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Eslinger worked as a teacher and principal before becoming the first woman superintendent at the Ava R-1 School District. She later became Superintendent of West Plains R-7 before working in the Missouri Department of Education.
Eslinger was elected to her first two-year term in the Missouri House to represent the 155th District in November 2018, and currently sits on the Elementary and Secondary Education and Workforce Development committees in the Missouri House of Representatives.
Eslinger says she hopes to continue the groundwork the legislature laid this year concerning workforce development and infrastructure improvements:
She added that she hopes to continue improving educational and economic prospects for the 33rd District if elected:
In the release announcing her candidacy, Eslinger says she also plans to fight to reduce restrictive regulations on businesses and plans to file a Constitutional Amendment that would prohibit illegal immigrants from voting Missouri elections.
