Missouri Sen. Jill Carter Named Assistant Majority Floor Leader

JOPLIN, MO. – Missouri State Sen. Jill Carter has been named assistant majority floor leader, placing her third in the Senate's leadership structure as lawmakers prepare for the upcoming legislative session.

Carter, who represents the 32nd Senatorial District, called the appointment a tremendous honor and an opportunity to help give Missourians a stronger voice in state government.

During an interview with Newstalk KZRG, Carter explained that the position involves helping manage the flow of legislation through the Senate, overseeing negotiations and stepping in to lead the chamber when the majority floor leader is unavailable.

"So essentially it's third in line as far as leadership positions," Carter said. "Nothing comes to the floor without the floor leader. So they're the ones that kind of keep the bills running. They're the ones who help negotiate. So I'm the assistant to that role."

She said the responsibility includes making sure the Senate continues operating and legislation keeps moving.

"I'm there to make sure that if the majority leader has to go off the floor, that I'm running the Senate essentially to keep those bills flowing, negotiations, things like that," Carter said.

Carter said she is grateful for the confidence her fellow senators have placed in her and hopes to follow in the footsteps of former Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard.

"It's just an honor to have the confidence of my colleagues to be able to take that position," she said.

Reflecting on her rise in Senate leadership, Carter described herself as someone who remains grounded in her background.

"I don't think of myself as anybody except for just a farm girl who was super passionate about governance and still have a disdain for politics," Carter said. "It ruins a lot of really good things politics does. But governance and a passion for our country is something that I completely adore."

She said her goal has always been to make government more transparent and ensure Republican lawmakers are advancing policies that matter to everyday Missourians.

Education, rural health care among legislative priorities

With the next legislative session approaching, Carter said conversations about priorities have already started among senators and state leadership.

She recently returned from a Republican caucus retreat where lawmakers discussed the budget, upcoming priorities and conversations with the governor.

Carter said one of the biggest takeaways from the recent election should be the need for lawmakers to reconnect with their constituents.

She recalled first running for office because she felt there was a disconnect between what was happening in Jefferson City and the struggles facing families across Missouri.

"I ran because I felt like there was a big disconnect between the average person who was trying to put gas in their car and food on the table and of what goes on up there," Carter said.

She believes lawmakers need to do a better job explaining what they are working on and how those decisions affect residents.

"We have got to better about that," she said. "People don't know a lot of the work we're doing or how it benefits them."

Carter said she has continued emphasizing that message with her colleagues, adding that constituents need to feel heard and understand where their elected officials stand.

Among the issues she hopes to see addressed early in the session are expanding the scope of practice for health care providers to improve rural access to care and pharmacy benefit manager reform.

Carter said those issues should provide opportunities for bipartisan cooperation.

"We should be able to come out of the gate and get those things accomplished," she said. "I think this is kind of red meat, low-hanging fruit that should not be a heavy lift for the Senate if we prioritize it."

Carter also pointed to education as an area that remains important to her, saying teachers should be able to focus on students' needs rather than simply teaching to a test.

She said broader systemic issues need attention, including allowing doctors to practice medicine without unnecessary restrictions on the time they spend with patients.

"These systems doctors should be able to practice medicine without having a time limit of seeing their patient for 15 minutes. Teachers should be able to teach not to a test but to the students' needs. I mean all these things that are so systematic where the systems are broken, we need to be fixing them and that's what the Republican Party stands for," Carter Said.

Carter also noted that she and the newly elected Sen. Lori Rook will be the only two Republican women in the Senate.

She said the two will have an important role in advancing policies involving women and families.

Election results serve as a wake-up call

Carter said the recent election results should encourage Republican lawmakers to reevaluate how they communicate and connect with voters.

She said elected officials cannot take relationships with their constituents for granted.

"I always tell people I vote my conscience, my constituents and then my caucus," Carter said.

She explained that party priorities and platforms can change, but voters ultimately want to know their elected officials care about their concerns.

"People want to know that you care and that you see them," she said.

Carter said she spent more than a decade advocating for her community before entering the Senate, often knocking on doors and trying to get lawmakers to pay attention to local concerns.

She said that experience continues to shape how she approaches her position.

"When people say, you know, we don't know, we don't have a lot of confidence or surety in where we're headed, that's our fault. That's messaging," Carter said. "Like, here are the things we're doing here, why we're doing them and this is how it's going to impact you. We have not been great at that."

She said the election should serve as a reminder that lawmakers must stay engaged with their communities rather than assume voters understand their work.

Carter addresses Amendment 3 and abortion debate

Carter also discussed Missouri voters' decision to retain abortion protections through Amendment 3, saying she continues to believe the state is largely pro-life.

She argued that voters were presented with misconceptions during the campaign, particularly surrounding exceptions for situations in which a woman's health or life is in danger.

"I will always believe that Missouri is pro-life," Carter said. "I think that there's a lot of misconception."

Carter said existing state law already included provisions allowing abortion when a woman's life or health was in danger. She said her position during the Amendment 3 debate centered on questions involving exceptions for rape and incest and protections for unborn life.

She also raised concerns about outside spending and its influence on Missouri's initiative petition process.

"Missouri is really at the crossroads because of all of the outside influence on initiative petitions," Carter said.

She pointed to the millions of dollars spent getting measures onto the ballot and influencing public opinion through campaign advertising.

Asked whether she expects the abortion issue to return to Missouri voters for a third consecutive election, Carter said she does not anticipate another immediate vote.

Instead, she said advocates need to take time to evaluate what happened, engage with communities and better understand voters' concerns.

"The days of doing just the status quo, I think, are over," Carter said. "You cannot, you have to be engaged."

She said transparency and public understanding of the legislative process are especially important moving forward.

"I have no desire to hide the process. I think you have to know more than ever how things work and the reality of things," she said.

Carter said lawmakers must focus on the people they represent while working to address policy concerns.

"You have to try to put your people first and you have to try to put policy second so that those two things are moving together," Carter said. "And until we prioritize people, I think we're in trouble."

As she steps into her new leadership role, Carter said she hopes to help bring lawmakers together, improve communication with constituents and move forward on issues affecting Missouri families.