Holly Thompson Rehder

Holly Rehder
Member of the Missouri Senate
from the 27th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 6, 2021
Preceded byWayne Wallingford
Member of the Missouri House of Representatives
from the 148th district
In office
January 9, 2013 – January 6, 2021
Preceded byDavid A. Day
Succeeded byJamie Burger
Personal details
Born
Holly Reneè Thompson

(1969-09-15) September 15, 1969 (age 55)
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Children3
EducationSoutheast Missouri State University (BA)

Holly Thompson Rehder is an American politician. A Republican, she was a member of the Missouri House of Representatives from 2013 to 2020, elected from the 148th district (parts of Scott and Mississippi counties). She had been a member of the Missouri Senate from the 27th district since January 2021, having been elected to that body in the November 2020 election.

Business career and education

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Rehder received her GED, then attended the Southeast Missouri State University. She did not initially complete her degree, dropping out to work full-time instead. After 17 years, she received a Bachelor's in mass communication and a double minor in Political Science and Communications for Legal Professionals (debate).[1]

Rehder and her former husband, Ray, founded Integrity Communications, a cable telecommunications installation and construction contractor, in 2004.[2][1]

Political career

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Rehder spent eight years in the Missouri House of Representatives holding the seat for the 148th District.[3] In the state House, Rehder sponsored a right-to-work law, which was opposed by organized labor.[4] She also sponsored legislation to legalize needle-exchange programs as a way to prevent the spread of hepatitis C and HIV and to encourage intravenous drug users to seek treatment.[5]

Since taking office in 2013, Rehder campaigned for legislation to establish a state database to track prescriptions for addictive drugs such as opioids.[6][7][8][9] The proposal was endorsed by Governor Mike Parson, but faced resistance from some legislators who cited privacy concerns, and failed to advance in several legislative sessions.[10][9] In supporting the proposal, Rehder cited the experience of her daughter, who had become addicted to painkillers at age 17 after receiving a prescription following a finger injury.[7][6] Missouri was the only state without such a monitoring database[9] until Rehder's bill passed in 2021.[6]

Due to Missouri's term limits law, she was ineligible to run for another state House term in 2020, so instead she ran for the Missouri Senate, District 27 to replace state Senator Wayne Wallingford.[11] She won the Republican primary election in August 2020 by a narrow margin of 141 votes, defeating Kathryn Swan; Rehder received 16,839 votes (50.2%) to Swan's 16,698 votes (49.8%).[12][13] She was easily elected in the heavily Republican district in the 2020 general election,[3] receiving with 63,644 votes (76.9%), defeating Democratic nominee Donnie Owens, who earned 19,135 votes (23.1%).[14] The 27th Senate district covers a geographically large region in southeast Missouri,[3] specifically the counties of Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Madison, Perry, Scott, and Wayne.[15]

Rehder praised Donald Trump and in 2019 pledged to promote "the Trump Agenda" in Southeast Missouri.[15] She supports anti-abortion laws.[15] In 2021, Rehder sponsored a measure to declare January 12 "Rush Limbaugh Day" in Missouri to commemorate the deceased conservative talk radio host.[16]

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Missouri, Rehder was one of five Republican state senators who called on Governor Parson to call a special session to pass legislation to ban employer mandates for employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, including mandates by both public entities and private businesses.[17][18]

Rehder co-sponsored a bill adapted from Cicero Institute model legislation that criminalized sleeping on public land.[19] It was struck down by the Supreme Court of Missouri.[20]

Electoral history

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Missouri House of Representatives Primary Election, August 7, 2012, District 148[21]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Holly Rehder 2,330 61.28%
Republican Josh Bill 1,472 38.72%
Missouri House of Representatives Election, November 6, 2012, District 148[22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Holly Rehder 8,991 60.41%
Democratic Bart Ziegenhorn 5,893 39.59%
Missouri House of Representatives Election, November 4, 2014, District 148[23]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Holly Rehder 5,915 100% +39.59
Missouri House of Representatives Election, November 8, 2016, District 148[24]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Holly Rehder 13,205 100% 0
Missouri House of Representatives Election, November 6, 2018, District 148[25]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Holly Rehder 10,937 100% 0
Missouri Senate Primary Election, August 4, 2020, District 27[26]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Holly Rehder 16,839 50.21 N/A
Republican Kathy Swan 16,698 49.79 N/A
Missouri Senate General Election, November 3, 2020, District 27[27]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Holly Rehder 63,644 76.88 +2.44
Democratic Donnie Owens 19,135 23.12 −2.44

Personal life

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Rehder was married to Raymond Rehder; they divorced after 29 years of marriage.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b Jon K. Rust (July 3, 2020). "Holly Rehder interview with B Magazine". Southeast Missourian.
  2. ^ "Representative Holly Rehder". house.mo.gov.
  3. ^ a b c d Kurt Erickson, Missouri senator lists house outside her district as her residence, St. Louis Post-Dispatch (June 5, 2021).
  4. ^ Missouri campaigners gear up for right-to-work vote, Associated Press (August 5, 2018).
  5. ^ Summer Ballentine, Missouri House advances needle-exchange bill, Associated Press (February 13, 2018).
  6. ^ a b c Summer Ballentine, Missouri to become final state to adopt medication database, Associated Press (June 7, 2021).
  7. ^ a b Summer Ballentine, Missouri Senate passes prescription drug monitoring program, Associated Press (April 13, 2017).
  8. ^ Summer Ballentine, Missouri House passes prescription drug tracking program, Associated Press (April 3, 2017).
  9. ^ a b c Summer Ballentine, Missouri opioid tracking bill still faces roadblocks, Associated Press (February 17, 2020).
  10. ^ Jim Salter, Parson wants prescription monitoring bill by session's end, Associated Press (December 5, 2018).
  11. ^ Mark Bliss, State Reps. Swan, Rehder to square off for Missouri Senate seat, Southeast Missourian, February 19, 2019.
  12. ^ Ruch, Amber (August 5, 2020). "Rehder wins Republican primary by slim margin for Senate Dist. 27". KFVS-TV.
  13. ^ Official Election Results: State of Missouri - Primary Election, Tuesday, August 4, 2020, as announced by the Board of State Canvassers on Monday, August 24, 2020.
  14. ^ State of Missouri - General Election, November 03, 2020, Secretary of State of Missouri.
  15. ^ a b c Rehder officially announces campaign for state Senate, Sikeston Standard-Democrat (September 9, 2021).
  16. ^ Cameron Jenkins, Missouri state senator proposes 'Rush Limbaugh Day', The Hill (April 15, 2021).
  17. ^ Margaret Stafford, Missouri lawmakers seek to ban business vaccine mandates, Associated Press (August 5, 2021).
  18. ^ Galen Bacharier, Missouri Republican senators push to ban vaccine mandates among private businesses, Springfield News-Leader (August 11, 2021).
  19. ^ Bates, Clara (2023-01-17). "Advocates, providers scramble as Missouri's new homelessness law goes into effect". Missouri Independent. Retrieved 2023-12-20.
  20. ^ Bates, Clara (December 19, 2023). "Missouri Supreme Court strikes down law banning sleeping on public land". Missouri Independent. Retrieved 2023-12-20.
  21. ^ "All Results; Official Results". Missouri Secretary of State. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  22. ^ "All Results; Official Results". Missouri Secretary of State. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  23. ^ "All Results; Official Results". Missouri Secretary of State. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  24. ^ "All Results; Official Results". Missouri Secretary of State. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  25. ^ "All Results; Official Results". Missouri Secretary of State. Retrieved June 1, 2020.
  26. ^ "All Results; Official Results". Missouri Secretary of State. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  27. ^ "All Results; Official Results". Missouri Secretary of State. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
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