Jay Ashcroft | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) | |
| 40thSecretary of State of Missouri | |
| In office January 9, 2017 – January 13, 2025 | |
| Governor | Eric Greitens Mike Parson |
| Preceded by | Jason Kander |
| Succeeded by | Denny Hoskins |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Robert Ashcroft (1973-07-12)July 12, 1973 (age 51) Jefferson City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Relatives | John Ashcroft (father) |
| Education | Missouri University of Science and Technology (BS,MS) Saint Louis University (JD) |
John Robert "Jay"Ashcroft (born July 12, 1973) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 40thSecretary of State of Missouri from 2017 to 2025. A member of theRepublican Party, he is the son of formerU.S. Attorney GeneralJohn Ashcroft.
As Missouri Secretary of State, Ashcroft pushed for strictervoter identification laws, fought againstballot initiatives, supported an investigation into formerMissouri Attorney GeneralJosh Hawley, and restricted library services for minors.
Ashcroft was a candidate in the2024 Missouri gubernatorial election, but came in third place in the primary againstState SenatorBill Eigel andLt. GovernorMike Kehoe.
Ashcroft is the son of politicianJohn Ashcroft.[1]
Ashcroft attended theUnited States Merchant Marine Academy, but did not graduate.[2] He earned hisBachelor of Science andMaster of Science degrees inengineering management fromMissouri University of Science and Technology. He then worked as an engineer intern and educator.[3][4] Ashcroft later attended law school, earning hisJuris Doctor[5] fromSaint Louis University School of Law. After law school, he worked for a law firm'sintellectual property division. He later worked for his father in the Ashcroft Law Firm, where he assisted businesses impacted by government regulations and counseled clients onpatent prosecution, regulatory compliance, andelection law.[6]
Ashcroft ran for theMissouri Senate in 2014,[7] losing to DemocratJill Schupp.[1] He ran forMissouri Secretary of State in the2016 election, defeating state senatorWill Kraus in the Republicanprimary election[8] and formerKMOV anchorRobin Smith in the general election.[9]In 2020, Ashcroft won re-election against DemocratYinka Faleti.
Following his2024 Missouri gubernatorial election campaign, Ashcroft announced "no intention" to run for another office.[10]
Ashcroft opposes abortion. As Secretary of State, Ashcroft wrote ballot summaries for initiatives seeking to reverse theMissouri ban on abortions. Judge John E. Beetem rewrote the summaries for all six initiatives. In his view, Ashcroft's summaries did not fairly represent the purposes or effect and lacked reference to alternative reproductive care mentioned in the initiatives.[11] Ashcroft appealed the case toSupreme Court of Missouri; it was denied less than a week later.[12]
Ashcroft is a staunch supporter of strictervoter ID laws. Ashcroft's claims about voter fraud, as well as the need for photo ID laws to combat voter fraud, were a central aspect of his 2016 campaign for the office of Missouri Secretary of State.[13] He has asserted that voter fraud is common enough to have "changed elections."[14][15][16] Election fraud did change the outcome in a Kansas City election when an aunt and uncle voted illegally for a state representative who won by one vote.[17] The type of voter fraud that would be addressed through Ashcroft's preferred legislation, which critics say suppresses turnout,[18] is extremely rare.[19][20] In defending a push for stricter photo-ID laws, Ashcroft cited one instance where a couple illegally voted, but omitted that the photo-ID laws that Ashcroft was advocating for would not have prevented the couple from voting.[20] According to theKansas City Star, "there has never been a reported case of voter impersonation fraud in Missouri."[13] In June 2018, Ashcroft said that voter fraud was "an exponentially greater threat than hacking."[13]
On July 3, 2017, Ashcroft said that he would comply with a request by thePresidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, a commission appointed byTrump to investigate supposed voter fraud, to a request for Missourians voting data.[21] At the time, Missouri was one of only three states to comply with the commission - which was required by Missouri law.[22] Officials of both parties in many states declined to turn over data to the commission, variously citing voter privacy and stating that the commission would legitimize Trump's claims of massive voter fraud.[21][23] He said he would give out voters' names, addresses, birthdates, where they voted and when, also required by Missouri law.[22][24]
Ashcroft has backed a number of Republican proposals to reduce the number of Missouri ballot initiative petitions and make it harder for ballot initiatives to win approval in elections.[25]
In March 2023, Ashcroft announced that he is withdrawing Missouri fromElectronic Registration Information Center, a bipartisan system to update and improve the accuracy of voter rolls.[26] His office declined to share reports from the decision orcyber security reviews on elections with the state auditor, leading to a "fair" rating in an audit released in February 2024.[27]
In December 2018, Ashcroft, who as Secretary of State does not have the power to issue subpoenas, askedMissouri State AuditorNicole Galloway, who can issue subpoenas, to cooperate in an investigation into then-Missouri Attorney GeneralJosh Hawley for using public resources in his successful2018 campaign for the U.S. Senate.[28] In February 2019, Ashcroft ended his investigation into Hawley, declaring that there was no evidence that Hawley or the AG's office had violated election law.[29]
In 2023, following the failure of a bill related toenvironmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment practices in Missouri Congress, Ashcroft utilized the powers of his office to set a rule requiring disclosure forms for utilization of ESG scores. The rule has been criticized as "anti-free market" by theSierra Club, and theChamber of Commerce described it as "vague" and "burdensome." The Missouri Secretary of State office's oversight over securities rules is unusual relative to other Secretary of State offices.[30]
Ashcroft's office hired campaign donors as independent counsel in a lawsuit challenging the rules.[31] By January 2024, costs paid to firm Graves Garrett had exceeded $167,000.[32] As attorney generalAndrew Bailey declined requests to use the state Legal Expense Fund, the additional estimated costs of $1.2 million are contingent on approval from state congress.[33]
Ashcroft told theNational Review that the bill is aimed to counter a Biden veto on federal ESG laws.[33] The coordinated targeting of ESG practices are led by conservative lawyerLeonard Leo.[34]
As Secretary of State in 2022, Ashcroft proposed restrictions on materials available to minors inpublic libraries. The proposal details procedures and processes each library would be required to implement in order to continue receiving state funding. More than 10,000 comments were submitted in the 30-day public comment period, and library industry leaders and associations voiced their opposition.[35] In response to backlash, Ashcroft described the state-wide rules as a move toward "local control" and said "I'm not the one making a big deal about this. It's the libraries."[36]
The implementation of Ashcroft's rule has been described as "mass confusion" for libraries as they attempt to comply with restrictions that could be interpreted broadly.[37]
After Missouri voters voted in favor ofMedicaid expansion, Ashcroft applauded efforts by Republicans in the Missouri legislature to block funding for Medicaid expansion.[38]
Ashcroft has stated appreciation for veterans. In 2024, his response to a candidate forum question about supporting veterans and active military personnel was criticized for suggesting the removal ofveterans' benefits.[39]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jill Schupp | 28,022 | 50.09% | +0.19 | |
| Republican | John R. "Jay" Ashcroft | 26,196 | 46.82% | −3.28 | |
| Libertarian | Jim Higgins | 1,727 | 3.09% | +3.09 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John R. "Jay" Ashcroft | 401,361 | 61.33% | ||
| Republican | Will Kraus | 226,473 | 34.60% | ||
| Republican | Roi Chinn | 26,638 | 4.07% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John R. "Jay" Ashcroft | 1,591,086 | 57.62% | +10.21 | |
| Democratic | Robin Smith | 1,061,788 | 38.45% | −10.43 | |
| Libertarian | Chris Morrill | 108,568 | 3.93% | +1.26 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | John R. "Jay" Ashcroft (incumbent) | 1,790,873 | 60.59% | +2.97% | |
| Democratic | Yinka Faleti | 1,072,415 | 36.28% | −2.17% | |
| Libertarian | Carl Herman Freese | 55,320 | 1.87% | −2.06% | |
| Green | Paul Lehmann | 23,981 | 0.81% | N/A | |
| Constitution | Paul Venable | 13,066 | 0.44% | N/A | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mike Kehoe | 275,139 | 39.41 | ||
| Republican | Bill Eigel | 227,257 | 32.55 | ||
| Republican | John R. (Jay) Ashcroft | 162,314 | 23.25 | ||
| Republican | 6 others | 33,492 | 4.80 | ||
| Total votes | 698,202 | 100.00 | |||
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| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forSecretary of State of Missouri 2016,2020 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Secretary of State of Missouri 2017–2025 | Succeeded by |