RELEASE: Boone County begrudgingly acknowledges Coyne in uncontested SD 19 GOP primary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, Aug. 12, 2024
Contact: liz@progressmo.org

Five things to know about James Coyne

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Running unopposed in the Republican primary, James Coyne only received 70% of the Republican votes for Senate District 19 covering Boone County. Voters’ lack of enthusiasm coincides with Missouri GOP desperation as they struggled to find a replacement for Chuck Bayse, who dropped out due to health concerns. Examining his record and comments further, it’s unclear whether he was vetted before being put on the ticket with less than 48 hours until the filing deadline.  

Here are 5 things to know about James Coyne:  

  1. This isn’t Coyne’s first run. Although this is his first nomination as a Republican, Coyne has run for the SD 19 seat before. As an Independent candidate in 2020, Coyne received a total of 72 votes.
  1. As an insurance professional, every prediction he made about the Affordable Care Act was wrong. In his 2017 YouTube explainer, Coyne proclaimed the ACA would be dead in two years. But as of 2023 data, more than 258,000 Missourians receive health care coverage through the ACA.   
  2. Coyne wants to defund local public schools, police, firefighters, roads and more. His policy proposal demanding the elimination of the state’s income tax includes no alternative revenue sources or spending adjustments, which would make critical parts of the state’s operation impossible. The state’s income tax accounts for nearly $10 billion, about 1/5 of the state’s $50.5 billion operating budget.
  3. He hasn’t met a conspiracy theory he doesn’t believe. While Coyne’s presence on the web and social media is limited, what he has posted is mostly disproven conspiracies. He claims to have been a part of the 2009 Tea Party march on Washington D.C. and that he was going to march on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 before the violent mob attacked our government. His Facebook account has several posts denying the results of the 2020 election. 
     
  4. Coyne wants Missouri to use gold and silver as legal tender. As outlined on his campaign website, included among other conspiracy theories, he says Missouri should move away from paper currency to precious metals like Texas.

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