{"id":10271,"date":"2026-05-28T12:00:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T17:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/28\/the-republican-party-has-changed-sen-lincoln-hough-reflects-on-final-session\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T12:00:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T17:00:58","slug":"the-republican-party-has-changed-sen-lincoln-hough-reflects-on-final-session","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westplexnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/28\/the-republican-party-has-changed-sen-lincoln-hough-reflects-on-final-session\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The Republican Party has changed\u2019: Sen. Lincoln Hough reflects on final session"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
\n

State Sen. Lincoln Hough, a Republican from Springfield, speaks on the Senate’s budget proposal on April 22 (Annelise Hanshaw\/Missouri Independent).<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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The 2026 legislative session saw one Republican consistently advocate for the traditions of the Senate, often in opposition to his party.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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State Sen. Lincoln Hough, a Republican from Springfield, is term-limited. What he experienced in his final session is a window into the consequences for someone who veers from party loyalty, not unlike what has played out on the national stage.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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During this spring\u2019s session, the former Senate Appropriations Committee chair often found time to join Democrats during floor debate in what appeared to be filibusters, often against Republican bills.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI always said that my life in public service or my life in politics would probably be pretty short,\u201d Hough said. \u201cCause I\u2019m just who I am.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Pat Thomas, a longtime Republican staffer, was Hough\u2019s Senate chief of staff for six years. She described Hough as having an independent streak, a dedication to the institution of the Senate and someone who holds to his own opinions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWhat rubs people wrong is that he does work both sides of the aisle \u2014 and always did,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hough has lamented the inability of some in his party to compromise with those across the aisle and to hear the other side out. Thomas said that Hough always tried to join floor debate when called on by senators of either party.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019re supposed to all be equals in this body,\u201d Hough said. \u201cWe have quote \u2018people in leadership,\u2019 but when you walk out on the Senate floor, you are supposed to be equals.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

That sentiment has conflicted with what Hough described as an attitude of \u201cdo what you\u2019re told to do and don\u2019t ask any questions\u201d in today\u2019s Republican Party.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hough said he believes his questioning of party leadership in 2025 caused him to lose his Senate Appropriations Committee seat and his role as committee chair, a powerful post leading that chamber\u2019s approach to the state budget. Hough served on Senate or House budget committees every other year he was in the legislature.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Last fall\u2019s special session saw the adoption of a gerrymandered congressional map and a resolution to make it more difficult for Missourians to change the state constitution. On both issues, Hough voted against successful Republican moves to halt debate, breaking with Senate tradition allowing infinite debate on the floor.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hough had shown a willingness to make changing the Missouri Constitution more difficult. But once debate was halted, he voted against both measures. Twenty minutes later, Senate President Pro Tem Cindy O\u2019Laughlin, a Republican from Shelbina, removed him as appropriations chair and eventually from the committee.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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O\u2019Laughlin has said the change was to give another senator a chance to run the budget process and provide continuity because Hough\u2019s term was ending.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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With no committee role, Hough had a lot of free time to debate bills on the floor.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cWhat did Cindy expect?\u201d Hough said. \u201cWhat did she think I was going to do?\u201d<\/p>\n

O\u2019Laughlin declined to comment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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At times, Hough\u2019s probing on budget particulars forced Senate leadership to admit they did not know the answers or that they had made mistakes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When the Senate passed its version of the budget, Hough asked new appropriations chair Sen. Rusty Black, R-Chillicothe, whether he knew how much money it took to pay state employees for a month. Black did not.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hough also butted heads with O\u2019Laughlin during floor debate and voted with Democrats against a joint resolution to eliminate the income tax, a priority for Gov. Mike Kehoe and Republican leadership.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hough does not regret his decision to vote against his party during the special session, even if it meant the loss of his position.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI would do nothing differently,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

State budget knowledge<\/h4>\n

\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hough\u2019s specialty is state budget history.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Adam Koenigsfeld, director of the Senate Appropriations staff, has been a nonpartisan staffer under nine Senate appropriations chairs. He described Hough as one of the best because of Hough\u2019s respect for staff and his intuition.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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This year has been challenging as federal COVID-19 funds are running dry, requiring state reserve funds to fill a roughly $2 billion deficit in the annual budget of roughly $50 billion.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hough said many senators do not know what a tight budget looks like, having only experienced budgets inflated by federal money.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI\u2019ve been telling our members for years, this is not normal,\u201d Hough said. \u201cWe will spend down those federal dollars and we will no longer have them, which is fine. But we just need to understand that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hough has seen tight budgets. In fiscal year 2012, the first budget he worked on, the state faced uncertain revenue as a result of natural disasters and the elimination of the corporate franchise tax.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hough also recalled how, in 2017, Gov. Jay Nixon\u2019s final year in office, roughly $200 million in state funds was left over \u2014 roughly enough to pay the 54,000 state employees for two months.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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At the end of April this year, the state\u2019s general revenue fund balance was $2.9 billion.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cGov. Nixon left us with two months (of pay),\u201d Hough said. \u201cThat\u2019s a tight budget. We have $3 billion in the bank.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"
Sen. Lincoln Hough, right, discusses a budget item May 8, 2025, with House Budget Committee Chairman Dirk Deaton during negotiations over the fiscal 2026 budget (Rudi Keller\/Missouri Independent).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Hough said he wanted that $2.9 billion used for the foundation formula, the main source of public school funding. Instead, the final amount appropriated fell $190 million short of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education\u2019s request.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Without a budget committee to lead, Hough wrote his own budget this year. It would have coupled funds meant for Capitol renovations with additional general revenue to fully fund the foundation formula.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When the leadership budget was considered in the Senate, Hough proposed increasing funding from general revenue for education. His amendment was voted down 10-20, with all other Republicans rejecting it.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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During each year that Hough was appropriations chair, the foundation formula had been fully funded.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cPeople talk about economic development, they talk about all these other incentive programs,\u201d Hough said. \u201cYou know what the greatest incentive program in the entire world is? Educating people.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hough worries that the state could be in trouble due to what he described as \u201canemic\u201d general revenue growth. Hough voted in 2025 to exempt capital gains from income taxes, a move estimated to cost the state $430 million in general revenue this year and $340 million annually.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s some silver bullet that all of a sudden is going to change the (general revenue) dynamic in this state,\u201d Hough said. \u201cBut I do think a sure-fire way to mess that up or expedite a problem is to do something that we don\u2019t really know what the outcome is going to be, right?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hough voted against the resolution asking voters to eliminate the individual income tax and allow the legislature to increase sales taxes to make up the lost revenue. The resolution aims to end income tax by 2032. Individual income tax is the largest share of general revenue, accounting for $9.17 billion in collections in fiscal year 2025.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI did that (vote against) because no one has been able to articulate a real plan,\u201d Hough said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Hough is skeptical of relying on sales tax revenue to fund state operations. While Hough said income tax revenue can be predicted for budget planning, he is less confident that sales tax revenue will be consistent, as he believes consumer spending is less predictable.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cYou can\u2019t really tell me we\u2019re going to raise sales tax on X, Y and Z by 5% and it\u2019s going to dollar-for-dollar offset the income tax,\u201d Hough said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

In a 2022 special session, Hough sponsored an income tax cut backed by Parson that became law. That plan has lowered the top income tax rate from 5.3% to 4.7%. Its goal is to lower the tax rate to 4.5% at an estimated cost of $764 million annually.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hough said he felt the Parson income tax cuts were handled more responsibly than this year\u2019s proposal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI would argue that if the policies that we\u2019ve been operating under for the last let\u2019s say two decades \u2014 since we Republicans have been in power \u2014 if they\u2019re not working, then we need to look at that, right?\u201d Hough said, reflecting on the pace of general revenue.<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

A changing Republican Party<\/h4>\n

\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThe Republican Party has changed,\u201d Hough said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hough said that asking questions about motions brought by fellow Republicans was seen as problematic within his party. He added that differences of opinion and cooperation across the aisle have been discouraged by Republican leadership.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI try to tell my kids that having different opinions is a good thing,\u201d Hough said. \u201cBeing different than someone else is a strength. You\u2019re different than your best friend at school. That doesn\u2019t mean he or she is wrong or you\u2019re wrong. You guys are just different.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Nonetheless, Hough describes himself as a Republican. To him, that means letting people make decisions for themselves, not telling private businesses what they can and can\u2019t do and being fiscally responsible.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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On social issues, Hough has a conservative record. During the 2025 regular session, Hough voted against removing the state\u2019s statutory ban on same-sex marriage. While same-sex marriage is legal due to a 2015 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, both the Missouri Constitution and state statute still ban it.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Senate Majority Leader Cindy O\u2019Laughlin of Shelbina speaks on May 10, 2024, after passage of a $51.7 billion state budget as Sen. Lincoln Hough of Springfield waits for his turn to speak (Rudi Keller\/Missouri Independent).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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Hough voted in 2024 to block Medicaid funding for abortion providers. In 2019, Hough voted to enact Missouri\u2019s abortion trigger law, which banned abortion except for medical emergencies once Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But at the end of the 2025 session, Hough voted unsuccessfully against halting debate on bills repealing voter-approved sick leave and abortion protections.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Reflecting on working for former U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, Hough said Blunt promoted the importance of compromise. Former U.S. Sen. Christopher \u201cKit\u201d Bond, who endorsed Hough\u2019s unsuccessful 2024 run for lieutenant governor, was also a role model.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hough recounted a story told by U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Democrat from Kansas City, after Bond died. Cleaver recalled that when he was first elected, Bond, a Republican, held a party welcoming him to Washington.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cThat\u2019s what I want from my leaders,\u201d Hough said. \u201cYou can see someone as a human and as an advocate for the things that they care about and as a believer in their community and you can throw him a reception \u2026 That\u2019s what I wish we had in politics today. And we don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Hough sees deliberation as an important trait of good governance. To symbolize this, this year he wrote many amendments by hand. He taped a peacock feather to a pen and later used feather quills. Hough said many of his fellow Senators do not know how to write their own bills, relying on Senate research staff to write proposed laws.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cEveryone seems to be in a very big hurry these days,\u201d he said. \u201cOur attention span is 12 seconds and we\u2019re scrolling off to the next thing. So, I started this year trying to bring back some historical perspective to the chamber.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Hough\u2019s attention to traditions can be seen in his Senate office. He had the room restored to how it would have looked originally, adding firefighters\u2019 helmets and taxidermied birds to make the space his.<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Who is Lincoln Hough?<\/h4>\n

\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hough is a first-generation cattle rancher, a father of two boys and has worked for the Springfield Farm Bureau and sat on the Greene County Commission.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Former staffer Thomas attributes Hough\u2019s seeming independent streak to his work as a cattle rancher, a trait seen in most farmers and ranchers. This independence kept staff on their toes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cHe can forge his own path, which sometimes makes things in these jobs a little difficult,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cYou had to be ready to pivot, cause he is pretty fast and moving on to different things.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Hough\u2019s independence and willingness to work with both sides of the aisle also could be attributed to his district, which Thomas said is similar to Columbia because of its universities and hospitals. The politics of his district is something Hough acknowledges has informed his style of governance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cSouthwest Missouri is a very red area of the state. Springfield is not. Springfield is a purple community,\u201d Hough said. \u201cI\u2019ve always described Springfield as an educated group of people who are thoughtful and deliberate \u2026 So, I like having that independence about the community that I\u2019ve represented.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Hough\u2019s independence is not always looked on fondly. He has been referred to as the \u201celeventh Democrat\u201d because of his willingness to join Democrats during debate.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI think they see somebody who goes out and stops debate or causes trouble or does whatever,\u201d Thomas said. \u201cI\u2019m not sure they see the side that checks in on his colleagues.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Thomas noted that Hough\u2019s sense of independence often made him a sought-after voice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

One important group to the senator is first responders. In 2021, Hough championed a bill signed by Parson creating a state fund for firefighters battling cancer. In 2023, he saw Parson sign another of his bills allowing first responders to claim workers\u2019 compensation for post-traumatic stress disorder. Hough said he still gets supportive messages regarding the bills.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cYou have to keep those things in mind because this place will make you go insane otherwise, right?\u201d Hough said. \u201cYou go down there and fight with everybody on the floor all the time and you just want to jump off a bridge. But then you come back up to your office and you\u2019ve got half a dozen notes from people from around the state saying, \u2018What you did for us matters.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

A legacy of work<\/h4>\n

\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hough\u2019s impact on Missourians will be felt at least through 2030, when construction of the Improve I-70 project is set to be complete. The $2.8 billion project aims to improve and add a third lane to the 200 miles of Interstate 70 between Wentzville and Blue Springs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want the credit now,\u201d Hough said regarding the construction. \u201cI\u2019ll take the credit later.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Hough recalled the initial $900 million proposal from Parson in 2023 to improve three major intersections along I-70. Hough proposed improving the whole thing. He also pushed for improvements to U.S. Route 67 and other projects. In 2024, Hough was considered for the position of director of the Department of Transportation but was not selected.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

Hough plans to work on his ranch and looks forward to spending time away from groundbreakings, ribbon cuttings and long days at the Capitol.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u201cThe people back at home that keep me grounded are generally my family,\u201d Hough said. \u201cIt\u2019s usually my little brother that says, \u2018You remember the building was there before you got there, and it\u2019ll be there after you leave.\u2019 I\u2019m like, yeah, that\u2019s a good perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story originally appeared in the Columbia Missourian<\/a>. It can be republished in print or online.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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