Lesterville, MO– Local small business owner and State Representative, Chris Dinkins, announced she has launched an exploratory committee for a possible State Senate run to replace Senator Holly Rehder. Rehder announced Tuesday she will not be seeking re-election to the senate and will instead run for Lt. Governor. The district contains Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Iron, Madison, Perry, Reynolds and Scott Counties.
“After much prayer, conversation, and reflection, I have decided to form an exploratory committee for the republican nomination for State Senate in Missouri’s 27th District,” Dinkins said. “I have heard from many voters and community leaders throughout the district who have encouraged me to explore this race. They believe, as I do, that it is essential we elect a strong, unwavering conservative who is passionate about our shared values.”
Dinkins is a Wayne County native with deep roots in the district and a proud product of a working class family. Her father was an Army Veteran who worked at the ASARCO plant in Glover, MO for more than 20 years as a member of Steelworkers local #7450. Dinkins raised her children in Iron County and is a member of the Happy Zion General Baptist church of Annapolis. She currently resides in Reynolds County with her husband Dave. Together they own and operate a small business in Lesterville, MO.
“I’m a working-class woman from a working class family so I know first hand that struggles and challenges many of our families our facing in the Biden-Economy,” Dinkins said. “As your State Senator, I will put American Jobs, American Workers, and American values first again! For too long career politicians and corrupt insiders have stolen the American Dream from Missouri’s working families. Decades of irresponsible career politicians, corrupt insiders, and corporate greed have lined the pockets of the wealthy while making it harder for our working families to earn family-supporting wages.”
Dinkins has previously received an award for “conservative excellence” by the American Conservative Union for her work in pushing conservative reforms in the state legislature. She supported and passed legislation that made Missouri the strongest Pro-Life state in the country and reduced taxes on Missouri families. Dinkins is an avid sportswoman who helped pass the “Second Amendment Preservation Act” and has pledged to combat any efforts to repeal the legislation in the State Senate.
“We are at a turning point in our country and it has never been more important to elect principled conservative leaders who will actually fight for the things we believe in,”
Dinkins said. “It is not enough to just have an “R” next to your name if you go to Jefferson City and vote like a “D”. I will work to ban taxpayer funding for all “woke” DEI and CRT programming in our state, will protect innocent life, defend our constitutional rights, and push back against out-of-control regulations being passed down on our farmers and business owners from the liberals in DC.”
Prior to her time as State Representative, Dinkins was active on the Republican State Committee and was a former award-winning educator. She said education reform is one of the issues she looks forward to tackling in the senate. “Right now, I think many parents have had their eyes open to what is going on in many of their public schools throughout the state. From curriculum transparency to more parental involvement and choice, we need to be exploring every option on how to ensure every child in our state has access to a world class education. We need to get out of the CRT and back to the ABC’s,” Dinkins stated.
Dinkins said she will continue talking to voters in the coming months to see if there is support for her candidacy in this race and will likely make a decision by the end of the year.
“Right now I’m going to focus on meeting voters and hearing first hand from them on what they want to see from their next State Senator,” Dinkins said. Voter can learn more at ChrisDinkins.com.