Who Is Mike Parson, Missouri’s New Governor?

Facing a criminal trial and possible impeachment, Gov. Eric Greitens of Missouri said on Tuesday that he would resign. He will be replaced by Lt. Gov. Michael Parson, a farmer and small-business owner elected in 2016, who will remain in the post through the end of Greitens’ term in January 2021.

Parson, who was raised on a farm in Hickory County, now runs “a cow and calf operation” in neighboring Polk County, according to his official state biography. Here’s what you should know about his political experience and policies:

Parson, 62, has far more political experience than Greitens, whose run for governor in 2016 was his first campaign.

After six years in the Army, Parson became the sheriff of Polk County, a conservative county near Springfield (it voted for President Donald Trump by a nearly 57-point margin). He was sheriff from 1993 until 2005, when he was sworn in to the Missouri House of Representatives. After serving in the House from 2005 to 2011, he was a state senator from 2011 until 2017.

John Hancock, a Republican consultant in Missouri, said Parson “might be uniquely qualified to be a voice of leadership in this moment.” While Greitens was often criticized for his lack of political experience and relationships in Jefferson City, the capital, Parson has an abundance of both, which Hancock said could help heal Republicans’ divisions over the Greitens scandal.

State Rep. Nate Walker, a Republican who had long urged Greitens to resign, said that the difference between Parson’s and Greitens’ personalities was in some ways “night and day.” Parson, he said, “is a man that kind of sits back, sizes up the situation, looks at things and then acts accordingly.”

Two of the most consequential pieces of legislation Parson co-sponsored as a state lawmaker were an expansion of Missouri’s so-called Castle Doctrine and an amendment that added the right to farm and ranch to Missouri’s Constitution.

The Castle Doctrine allows homeowners and renters to use deadly force in self-defense, a measure Parson’s website says ensures “that Missourians have the right to protect themselves and their families from intruders without worrying that they will wind up the victim of a lawsuit from the criminal who was trying to harm them.” It is similar to “stand your ground” laws that have caused controversy in other states.

The constitutional amendment on farming, which voters approved in 2014, states, “The right of farmers and ranchers to engage in farming and ranching practices shall be forever guaranteed in the state.” Among its critics are environmental groups, which say the amendment made it harder to hold farmers to account for unsafe practices, and even some small farmers, who fear that large operations opening nearby will harm their own, NPR reported.

In terms of ideology, Parson differs far less from Greitens than he does in style. For example, they both generally support tax cuts, deregulation for businesses, and abortion restrictions.

“On the major issues, the conservative base issues,” Walker said, “I don’t see that there’s much difference.”

One policy issue on which Parson has broken vocally from Greitens is the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, a program meant to promote affordable housing. In December, Parson was one of only two members of the Missouri Housing Development Commission to vote against ending the state’s match for that credit.

Greitens, by contrast, strongly supported the move and made last-minute appointments to the housing commission to ensure its passage.

Separately, Parson was criticized last year for requesting additional money for his office while other state offices were expecting to lose some of their funding. He also approved more than $50,000 in office renovations when he took the job, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.