SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Army veteran, business owner and former Springfield City Councilwoman Angela Romine has announced her bid for state senator of Missouri’s 30th Senate District in Greene County.
Romine says she enjoyed being a voice for the people of Springfield, but feels her efforts would be more beneficial at the state level. Out of eight city council members, Romine said she essentially had zero voting power as the only conservative and was regularly outvoted 7-1.
After consistently being isolated on the voting board, Romine said local conservatives began encouraging her to run for Senate and challenge incumbent Sen. Lincoln Hough. After months of prayer and growing tired of candidates campaigning on “empty promises,” she filed to run and plans to hit the ground running.
If elected, top priorities for Romine include giving parents a say in the education of their children, bolstering election integrity and pushing back against mask or vaccine mandates. An outspoken opponent of the mask mandates implemented in Springfield during the pandemic, Romine peacefully protested in front of city hall to voice her opposition.
Speaking on the importance of safe and secure elections, Romine believes a respectable election integrity bill was proposed earlier this year, but says it was heavily amended and became watered-down over time.
“I can’t say 100% that we have (voter fraud) here in Missouri, but why wait until we become one of those controversial states? We need to clean up our bills and our voting process,” Romine said.
As owner of HALO Massage and Wellness, Romine said she saw how “unconstitutional” COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions harmed small businesses and society as a whole. The veteran’s business was deemed “non-essential” during the pandemic, leaving her unsure if it would survive 2020.
“We should not be telling people that they are essential and non-essential,” Romine said. “You have a right to make money to support your family no matter what. To tell people, ‘You can work and you can not work’ is the government getting into the free market and picking winners and losers. That’s not a free market, that is crony capitalism right there.”
Romine is also a committed proponent of the national movement calling on school districts to be more transparent with their curriculums, specifically regarding critical race theory and discussion of gender topics in classrooms. She believes parental rights are under attack by local school systems, and vows to fight for parents’ right to know what their children are being taught.
“Parents are the ultimate authority over those children,” she asserted.
Romine believes there is much more to being an educated voter than many realize, and encourages citizens to attend city council meetings, school board meetings and visit Jefferson City to speak directly with elected officials in order to stay informed.
Although she stepped down, Romine still plans on attending Springfield City Council meetings and staying heavily involved with city policies if elected.
