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Bill Eigel

Bill Eigel
Eigel at a Young Americans for Liberty conference, 2018
Member of the Missouri Senate
from the 23rd district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 4, 2017
Preceded byTom Dempsey
Personal details
Born
William Charles Eigel[1]

(1977-11-24) November 24, 1977 (age 46)
Dayton, Ohio, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseAmanda
Children2
EducationPurdue University (BS)
Webster University (MBA)
WebsiteCampaign website
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Air Force
Years of service2009–2016
RankCaptain
Battles/warsOperation Enduring Freedom

William C. Eigel (born November 24, 1977) is an American politician and member of the Missouri State Senate.[2][3] A member of the Republican Party, he was first elected in 2016 and assumed his seat on January 4, 2017.[2] Eigel is a former captain in the United States Air Force, having served from 2009 to 2016.[4][5]

Eigel was a candidate in the 2024 Missouri gubernatorial election, but came in second place in the primary against Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe.

Early life and education

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Eigel grew up in Dayton, Ohio and holds an MBA from Webster University.[6] He attended Purdue University from 1995-1999 and received a BS in industrial engineering.[7]

Legislative tenure

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In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Eigel called for a special session of the Missouri legislature to implement legislation to prevent private-sector companies from requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for staff and customers.[8]

In January 2024, Eigel was stripped of his committee chairmanship and Capitol parking spot following filibusters and stalling tactics meant to force a vote on an amendment to increase barriers to citizen ballot initiatives.[9] Senate majority leader Cindy O'Laughlin expressed willingness to expel Eigel from the senate chambers due to disruptive behavior. In summer 2024, her PAC transferred funds to Rusty Black's PAC for mailers against his gubernatorial bid.[10]

In February 2024, Eigel and other Republicans opposed an amendment that would allow abortion in cases of rape or incest.[11] Eigel stated that Democrats wanted to "bring back the institution of abortion so that kids can get abortions in the state of Missouri. A 1-year-old could get an abortion under this."[12][13] He then said the proposed amendment "doesn't address" the "institutions of rape or of incest".[14]

Gubernatorial campaign

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In 2023, Eigel's BILL PAC was accused of using deceptive tactics to raise money for the 2024 Missouri gubernatorial election. Emails that prominently featured Donald Trump solicited small donations nationwide.[15] As of October 2023, almost 99% of donations to BILL PAC came from out of state.[16]

Eigel attracted wide attention for a video involving a flamethrower and burning cardboard boxes with references to book burning. He has also criticized incumbent governor Mike Parson for calling for civility in politics.[17]

Election results

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Missouri Senate Primary Election, August 2, 2016, District 23[18]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Bill Eigel 11,142 40.30%
Republican Anne Zerr 10,757 38.91%
Republican Michael (Mike) Edward Carter 5,746 20.79%
Missouri Senate — District 23 — St. Charles County (2016)
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Bill Eigel 56,870 60.16 −39.84
Democratic Richard Orr 34,651 36.65 +36.65
Libertarian Bill Slantz 3,014 3.19 +3.19
Missouri Senate Primary Election, August 4, 2020, District 23[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Bill Eigel 15,018 71.29 +30.99
Republican Eric Wulff 3,310 15.71 N/A
Republican Dan O'Connell 2,737 12.99 N/A
Missouri Senate General Election, November 3, 2020, District 23[20]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Bill Eigel 57,988 57.25 −2.91
Democratic Richard Orr 43,306 42.75 +6.10
Missouri Gubernatorial Primary Election, August 6, 2024[21]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Mike Kehoe 274,840 39.4
Republican Bill Eigel 227,012 32.6
Republican Jay Ashcroft 162,086 23.2
Republican Amber Thomsen 10,627 1.5
Republican Chris Wright 9,358 1.3
Republican Darrell McClanahan 5,637 0.8
Republican Robert Olson 2,975 0.4
Republican Jeremy Gundel 2,946 0.4
Republican Darren Grant 1,866 0.3

References

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  1. ^ "Meet Missouri gubernatorial candidate Bill Eigel". 25 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Senator Bill Eigel". senate.mo.gov. State of Missouri. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  3. ^ "Missouri lawmaker pushing end to electronic voting". KMOV-TV. 26 March 2018. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  4. ^ Rosenbaum, Jason (20 April 2017). "Politically Speaking: Sen. Bill Eigel wants lawmakers thinking differently on transportation". KBIA. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  5. ^ "Senator Bill Eigel". Missouri Senate, Missouri General Assembly. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Who We Are".
  7. ^ "Vote Smart | Facts for All".
  8. ^ "Missouri GOP Senators Want Special Session To Combat Private-Sector Vaccine Mandates". St. Louis Public Radio. 2021-08-04. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  9. ^ Keller, Rudi (2024-01-23). "Missouri 'Freedom Caucus' leaders ousted from Senate chairmanships over stall tactics". Missouri Independent. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
  10. ^ Keller, Rudi (July 29, 2024). "Missouri Senate feud spills into governor's race as GOP leader's PAC funds attacks on Bill Eigel". Missouri Independent. Retrieved 2024-07-29.
  11. ^ Suntrup, Jack (2024-02-08). "Senate Republicans block rape and incest exceptions for Missouri abortion ban". STLtoday.com.
  12. ^ "GOP Lawmaker Dubiously Claims Amendment Would Let 1-Year-Olds Get Abortions". HuffPost. 2024-02-13. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
  13. ^ "GOP Lawmaker Dubiously Claims Amendment Would Let 1-Year-Olds Get Abortions". Yahoo News. 2024-02-13. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
  14. ^ Suntrup, Jack (February 8, 2024). "Senate Republicans block rape and incest exceptions for Missouri abortion ban". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  15. ^ Suntrup, Jack (2023-09-02). "A candidate for Missouri governor has thousands of donors. Do they know who he is?". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
  16. ^ Keller, Rudi (2023-10-02). "Out-of-state donors fuel pair of GOP candidates running for Missouri governor, AG". Missouri Independent. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
  17. ^ Suntrup, Jack (2023-11-16). "Candidate for Missouri governor blasts Mike Parson for promoting civility in politics". STLtoday.com. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
  18. ^ "All Results; Official Results". Missouri Secretary of State. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  19. ^ "All Results; Official Results". Missouri Secretary of State. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  20. ^ "All Results; Official Results". Missouri Secretary of State. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  21. ^ "Missouri Governor Primary Election Results 2024". The New York Times. August 6, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.


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