2024 AdWatch: on Foreign Policy

Bill Eigel: The ONLY candidate who'll ban China owning Missouri land

Bill Eigel says Jay Ashcroft hasn't gone far enough when it comes to countering foreign-owned land. But Ashcroft's campaign said Eigel, who is pushing for an all-out ban on foreign ag land ownership, actually voted for allowing foreign ownership in the past.

Ashcroft referred to 2023 legislation Eigel voted for that allows foreign governments to own farmland for "nonfarming" purposes.

Eigel has also filed his own legislation to ban all foreign-owned agricultural land. The measure would require "aliens and foreign businesses" to "divest interest in agricultural land in the state" by 2027. "Bill Eigel is the ONLY candidate for governor who wants to ban all foreign entities from owning Missouri land," says Eigel's spokesperson.

Crystal Quade: Democrats have long opposed China owning Missouri ag land

Republicans [including Quade's opponent Mike Kehoe] voted to override Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of a 2013 plan, opening up Missouri ag land to foreign ownership. In recent years, however, Republicans have pushed to reverse course.

House Minority Leader Crystal Quade said "Democrats have been trying to fix the mess the extremists made." She referred to legislation she filed barring future agricultural land purchases by foreign corporations, "ensuring we're putting America's food and energy needs first."

Quade said that while she has been "sounding the alarm" on the issue, "other candidates have voted to sell off Missouri's farmland or have made other issues a priority over securing our national interests."

Jay Ashcroft: AdWatch:I don't authorize Chinese ownership of Missouri land

A campaign ad titled "Cows" depicts a Missouri bovine forced to learn a new language "now that my farm is owned by China." The cow says its herd is wondering why Ashcroft supported a law "allowing the Chinese Communist Party to buy land here in Missouri, even land near sensitive US military bases." Other cows in the ad are adorned with the flag of China.

Ashcroft says the ad ignores the provision creating 30-mile buffers. "That precluded the entire state," Ashcroft said. "They don't know how to read the bill."

Ashcroft's campaign released an ad featuring Ashcroft's father: "Jay Ashcroft never supported policy or legislation that welcomed or authorized Chinese ownership of Missouri land," said former Gov. John Ashcroft.

Mike Kehoe: AdWatch: My opponent allows China owning Missouri ag land

A campaign ad titled "Cows" depicts a Missouri bovine forced to learn a new language "now that my farm is owned by China." The cow says its herd is wondering why Ashcroft supported a law "allowing the Chinese Communist Party to buy land here in Missouri, even land near sensitive US military bases." Other cows in the ad are adorned with the flag of China.

Asked to back up the claim about Ashcroft, a spokesman for [the pro-Mike Kehoe PAC funding the ad] pointed to legislation Ashcroft testified for in 2023 that would restrict foreign-owned purchases. The bill would have reduced the current 1% cap on foreign-owned agricultural land to 0.5%, and also would have barred "any alien or foreign business" from buying land within 30 miles of agricultural land, military installations and more.