Missouri Rep. Josh Hurlbert seeks re-election in District 8

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) -- Missouri State Rep. Josh Hurlbert is looking to continue his time serving Missouri's 8th District.

Hurlbert was born and raised in Smithville, Missouri. He served as the alderman of Smithville before being elected in 2020 to serve as the Missouri House Representative.

Hurlbert said the future of Missouri is always at the top of voters' minds in District 8.

"Education plays a part; job creation plays a part," he said. "How can we keep kids in Missouri? How can we give them careers in Missouri that they want to work in, so they stay home? That we grow Missouri that way."

Hurlbert said his top priority if re-elected is ensuring children thrive in the classroom.

"The more we can empower parents to take control of their kids' decisions to strengthen that three-legged stool that is the underpinning of all of education that the school, the student and the parent involvement," he said.

Hurlbert said he wants to make health care more affordable and accessible for Missourians.

"We've got to do something more on a broader scale as well. Things like the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP), those funds are starting to hit Missouri now. Those are going to help our rural hospitals," he said. "Going to help them build their facilities and upgrades they need to be competitive. We need more price transparency; we need people to actually know what they are actually going in for or what the cost is going to be for what they are going in for."

Abortion will appear on the November ballot. This would repeal Amendment 3, which was passed by voters in 2024. It amended the state constitution, providing for the fundamental right to reproductive freedom, including abortion.

Hurlbert disagrees with Missouri's current abortion laws.

"If we’re not taking care of the most vulnerable, then we’ve lost as a society. What I wanna do is we need to come around families that are in those unexpected pregnancy situations," he said. "We need to support them; we need to help them, but at the same time we can’t allow this unborn child to be a second victim."

For more information about Proposition 3, KQ2’s Noel Hardin breaks down what you need to know about the issue.

Data centers have been a hot topic across the country as well.

According to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, there were roughly 50 data centers established in Missouri by the 2020s.

Hurlbert said the country needs to build more data centers while balancing the needs of local communities.

"How do we make sure these data centers are paying their full energy cost? When we passed Missouri Senate Bill 4 a couple of years ago, we made sure they had to do that; there was a large, low tariff on these data centers to make sure they're not getting a discount," he said. "One of my other concerns has been the incentive packages for data centers. If a data center comes in, everyone in the community should see a benefit."

Hurlbert said he will continue advocating for District 8 residents if re-elected to another term.

"People know me, they know how I vote. They know where I stand on the issues that way. I'm not looking at trying to pull the rug out from under them, and be someone complete different either," he said. "I'm going to continue fighting for my constituents, I'm going to continue fighting for Missouri families and doing what I can to make their lives a little better."

Election Day will place on Tuesday, Nov. 3. To find information on candidates and propositions feature on the ballot visit KQ2.com/voterguide.