Cindy O'Laughlin

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Cindy O'Laughlin
Majority Leader of the Missouri Senate
Assumed office
January 4, 2023
Preceded byCaleb Rowden
Member of the Missouri Senate
from the 18th district
Assumed office
January 9, 2019
Preceded byBrian Munzlinger
Personal details
Political partyRepublican
EducationUniversity of Missouri, Columbia (BBA)

Cindy O'Laughlin is an American politician. She was elected to Missouri's 18th Senatorial District in

2018.[1]

Prior to being elected to the Missouri Senate, O’Laughlin served as a member of the Shelby County R-IV School District and the Treasurer of the Missouri Club for Growth.[2]

Missouri Senate

In October 2017, O’Laughlin announced her candidacy for state senate.[3] She won the Republican primary against three other candidates. She successfully ran against Democrat Crystal Stevens in the November election.[4]

O’Laughlin serves as the chair of the Missouri Senate Committee on Education and also the Missouri General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Education.[5]

Tenure

On July 6, 2021, O'Laughlin visited the Schuyler County Courthouse in Lancaster. The goal of the visit was to let residents talk about current Missouri issues. Topics brought up included gun rights, broadband and road infrastructure. Residents also talked about Medicaid, which had been approved by Missouri the previous month.[6]

Healthcare

O’Laughlin was an early opponent of state and national lockdowns as it related to the COVID-19 pandemic and advocated for the state to allow visitors to return to nursing homes.[7] An editorial by The Kansas City Star called her advice “dangerous.”[7][8][9]

In 2022, she opposed the Joe Biden administration's COVID-19 vaccine requirements for health care workers.[10]

Education

O’Laughlin serves as the chair of the Missouri Senate Committee on Education and also the Missouri General Assembly’s Joint Committee on Education. She has sponsored legislation to expand charter schools and is a supporter of school choice.[1] Prior to being elected to the Missouri Senate, O’Laughlin served as a member of the school board at her local public school and as an administrator at a local private school.

In 2020, O’Laughlin sponsored legislation to require transgender high school athletes to compete based on their assigned sex at birth.[11]

Personal life

O’Laughlin has served as the

Vice President of Leo O’Laughlin, Inc. for nearly three decades. She and her husband own and operate a trucking company and ready-mix concrete business with Missouri locations in Shelbina, Macon, Marceline and La Belle.[12]
O’Laughlin has been a member of various civic organizations such as the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce & Industry and the Shelby County Economic Development Board. She has also served on numerous statewide boards, such as the Associated Builders and Contractors and the Missouri Club for Growth.


Electoral history

2018 Primary

Republican Primary Results[13]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Cindy O'Laughlin 9,893 36.70%
Republican Craig Redmon 7,236 26.84%
Republican Nate Walker 5,340 19.81%
Republican Lindell F. Shumake 4,489 16.65%
Margin of victory 2,657 9.86%
Total votes 26,958 100.0%

2018 General Election

Missouri's 18th State Senate District, 2018[14]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Cindy O'Laughlin 46,225 70.30%
Democratic Crystal Stephens 19,528 29.70%
Margin of victory 26,697 40.60%
Total votes 65,753 100.0%
Republican hold

2022 General Election

Missouri's 18th State Senate District, 2022[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican
 		Cindy O'Laughlin 42,989 75.78% +5.48
Democratic
 Ayanna Shivers 13,739 24.22% -5.48
Total votes 56,728 100.0%
Republican
hold

References

  1. ^ a b Missouri Senate. "Senator Cindy O'Laughlin". Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  2. ^ "Cindy O'Laughlin Q&A". The Linn County Leader. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  3. ^ "O'Laughlin enters Missouri Senate race".
  4. ^ KHQA (2018-08-07). "Cindy O'Laughlin wins Republican nomination for State Senate in District 18". KHQA. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  5. ^ Missouri Senate. "Joint Committee on Education". Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  6. ^ McGee, Caelan (2021-07-06). "State Senator Cindy O'Laughlin meets with Schuyler County residents". KTVO. Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  7. ^ a b Cliburn, Erik (March 23, 2020). "O'Laughlin questions validity of stay-at-home orders". The Moberly Monitor-Index. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  8. ^ Nelson, Benjamin (April 1, 2020). "O'Laughlin criticized for now deleted Facebook post regarding stay-at-home orders". The Macon County Home Press.
  9. ^ "'Get on with the business of life'? Missouri lawmaker offers dangerous COVID-19 advice". The Kansas City Star. March 25, 2020.
  10. ^ Bacharier, Galen. "U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments from Missouri on vaccine mandates for health care workers". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved 2022-01-08.
  11. ^ "Missouri senator proposes trans student-athletes to play sports on gender identified at birth". CNN. January 14, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  12. ^ "Home". olaughlininc.com.
  13. ^ "State of Missouri - Primary Election, August 07, 2018". Missouri Secretary of State. November 16, 2018.
  14. ^ "State of Missouri - General Election, November 06, 2018". Missouri Secretary of State. November 16, 2018.
  15. Missouri Secretary of State
    . December 9, 2022. Retrieved January 8, 2023.
Missouri Senate
Preceded by Majority Leader of the Missouri Senate
2023–present 		Incumbent
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