05/24/2026
My name is Luke Rae. I am running for the Missouri House of Representatives in district 11, which covers the south and east sides of Saint Joseph and surrounding areas, the seat is currently held by Brenda Shields, she has reached her term limit so someone new will fill the position.
I was born here and my family has lived here for generations. I am a husband, father, pharmacist, manager, college instructor and work on my family farm. I went to Mid-Buchanan from kindergarten to high school graduation, I then went to Northwest Missouri State for two years as a chemistry major before transferring to the University of Missouri - Kansas City where I graduated with a doctorate of pharmacy. I have also earned a masters of business administration. I currently work as the manager of a nuclear pharmacy where we make radioactive medication for cancer patients.
I love living here and want to make sure this town and surrounding areas have a strong future. I want it to be a safe place to live with good jobs and great schools where everyone feels like they have an opportunity to succeed and raise a family.
I got into this race because of education. Teachers in Missouri are paid close to the bottom compared to all other states and state funding for schools is also near the bottom, state spending for schools is ranked 49th, average teacher pay 48th and starting teacher pay 49th. While giving $60 million to private schools in the form of vouchers. I think that shows what priorities the state leadership has. Public money should not be used to fund private schools. This money needs to be invested back into the public school system. Teachers are one of the most important jobs and are not paid like it and are expected to buy things they need for the classroom. Students also have to purchase school supplies which is a burden on low income families. Why can we not fund the schools to provide everything needed during the school year for students and teachers? We need to listen to teachers, students, parents and administrators and work together to give schools the tools and support they need to succeed.
We have to fix public education and make these schools places where parents want their kids to go. I have no issue with private schools or homeschooling. Every parent deserves the right to decide what is best for their children and families. But we need to talk to those parents and understand why they are choosing these options over public schools and address their concerns.
Every child deserves to go to a high quality school no matter where they live or what their household income is. That means fixing public schools close to where they live, not giving them money to go to private schools, not sending them to another district and not counting on homeschooling, these are not good options for everyone.
If we continue to cut education funding it will hurt everyone in the long term. People want good schools when looking for somewhere to live, so by neglecting them less people will choose to move here. Companies need an educated workforce to staff new investments here and will look elsewhere if we can’t meet the demand.
Schools are more than just a place where you learn facts it also builds community, it’s where people make friends, learn how to interact with peers, participate in sports, be involved in clubs. Young people need something to look forward to and believe they have a chance at being successful and school provides many avenues for that. If those opportunities are not available to everyone then I believe we will see more people give up on the system and turn to crime or reliance on the government and not be fully contributing citizens. If everyone does have similar opportunities then the best will rise to become the next leaders, but if that opportunity is not there for everyone then many smart and hard working people will be left behind.
Sometimes we need to come together and do what’s right, not just what is profitable, that is what government is supposed to do. Funding public schools is an investment in the future, it doesn’t need to be another way for wealthy individuals to make a profit.
Healthcare is also very important to me. My son is 13 years old, he has a brain disorder that causes him to have seizures every day and prevents him from being able to walk or talk or do many other things. We give him the best life we can, but it’s hard because we have to fight just to get the basic things he needs. Everything is so expensive and insurance companies don’t like to pay. No one should have to choose between bankruptcy or the care they need to live.
We have to get money out of politics and pass state legislation to limit Citizens United in Missouri and stop unlimited spending on elections. The government should be serving the people not the biggest donors. We need to end gerrymandering and have nonpartisan independent oversight of district boundaries that provides fair representation. We need to aggressively combat fraud and make sure our tax dollars aren’t being wasted.
I am against the proposed ending of the state Income tax. This will hurt working class families and seniors while providing a tax break for the wealthy. If the new revenue streams fall short then cuts will have to be made, which will probably mean even less money for education.
I support unions. My brother and many of my friends are in unions. Unions help employees advocate for better pay and better benefits. They are important to ensure employers support their workers in a fair way where employees share in more of the success of the company.
I am not against AI in general, I think it can be a good tool but it needs to be implemented responsibly. There are many downsides to data centers that need to be worked out before we continue building more of them. They use a lot of water and electricity. I want to make sure electricity bills don’t go up for the people living by them and that clean drinking water is protected. Citizens need to benefit from the data center in the long term.
I will provide honest transparent leadership and I know the struggles working class families face everyday.
The country is at an inflection point right now with extreme wealth inequality, the huge amount of money in politics, the exploding national debt, AI, the war with Iran, the intense political division and everything else going on. There will be a lot of changes in the next few years and now is the time to come together to solve problems. We will not agree on everything but that can’t stop us from working together on what we do agree on. We need to start looking at root causes and actually trying to fix things long term, not just put a bandaid on things to get through to the next election cycle.
If you believe in me and more importantly if you believe in public education, a government that serves the people and the future of this community then I need your help. We need democrats, independents, republicans, young people and people who normally don’t vote to come together to fix the system. I hear all the time that normal people have no power, voting doesn’t matter, or protests accomplish nothing. I don’t believe any of that is true. We do have power to change things, but more people have to believe that and get involved. Politics affects every part of everyone’s lives. We have to learn more about what is going on, get more involved and vote for good people before it is too late.
We are up against big money, but I believe we can win this election. Money can’t buy genuine grassroots support, but it can buy a lot of ads and signs. I can’t personally talk to everyone so I need everybody here to be an advocate on my behalf. Spread the word, donate even a small amount, volunteer to knock on doors or phone bank, host a fundraiser or let me know about opportunities to get involved. l want to fight on your behalf and ensure a bright future for this area and Missouri as a whole. Thank you all so much for taking time out of your day to come and learn a little bit about me. I look forward to putting in the work to earn your votes and hopefully being your advocate in Jefferson City.
