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<h2>...and why am I running?</h2><img src="https://run.imgix.net/e49bd22d-32a5-443a-93e8-b82ba91848dc/8be2b54a-2adf-40f2-930a-67b8a32af1a5/8be2b54a-2adf-40f2-930a-67b8a32af1a5.jpg?ixlib=js-3.8.0&amp;bri=0&amp;con=0&amp;sat=0&amp;high=0&amp;shad=0&amp;usm=0&amp;rect=0%2C229%2C2000%2C2422&amp;w=1500" alt="" caption="" align="left" alignwidth="47.5" tiltdirection="left" variant="framed">My campaign isn’t about politics as usual. This is about our community, our families, and whether we feel like anyone is actually listening to us anymore. This campaign isn’t about one party. It’s not about labels. To win and more importantly, to actually make a difference we need Republicans, Democrats, independents, people who’ve never voted, and even those who’ve given up on politics entirely.Because at the end of the day, most of us want the same things. We want good schools for our kids. We want to be able to afford groceries, housing, and healthcare. We want honest leadership. We want to feel like our voices matter again. And that’s what this campaign is about.I’m not promising you that I’ll have all the answers. But I am promising you I will listen. I will show up. I will fight for this community with integrity every single day. If you believe in that, I’m asking for your support.

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About Luke Rae

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<h2 style="text-align: left;">Who I am...</h2><img src="https://run.imgix.net/e49bd22d-32a5-443a-93e8-b82ba91848dc/03174a9b-33e4-4e8a-a1b1-9833bb4af62f/03174a9b-33e4-4e8a-a1b1-9833bb4af62f.jpg?ixlib=js-3.8.0&amp;bri=0&amp;con=0&amp;sat=0&amp;high=0&amp;shad=0&amp;usm=0&amp;rect=0%2C0%2C4000%2C6000&amp;w=1500" alt="" caption="" align="left" alignwidth="40" tiltdirection="left" variant="framed">My family has lived and farmed right here in this district for over 100 years. I went to Mid-Buchanan from kindergarten through graduation. My wife Hannah and I are raising two children here. This isn't just where I live, it's who I am. Professionally, I'm a pharmacist. I earned my Doctorate of Pharmacy from UMKC and later an MBA while working full-time. Today, I manage a nuclear pharmacy, and I've also had the opportunity to teach at UMKC and KU. I’m not a career politician. In fact, I’ve never run for office before. But like a lot of you, I’ve been paying attention to what’s happening in our state—and I reached a point where I couldn’t just sit back and hope someone else would fix it. So I decided to step up.

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<h2>Campaign Kickoff</h2>Parkway Distillery415 N 13th Street Saint Joseph, MO 64501May 23, 2026 6:00 - 8:00 pm

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My goal is to win the election, but even if I don’t win I hope to at least inform people about what is going on. To bring more awareness to this community about what is happening in this country and how it affects people here. If I am able to help change a few people’s minds then I will consider this a success.We the people are the government. A government is just a collection of people who have decided to work together. We pay taxes into a collective account to fund programs to help us. A good government’s duty is to the people who elected it and the main goal should be to facilitate prosperity for as many citizens as possible.The United States is now an Oligarchy. More and more money and power are being consolidated everyday in the hands of a few. Money and power become easier to get with more money and power, so the problem is accelerating.According to Merriam-Webster, an oligarchy is defined as government by the few, specifically a system where a small group exercises control, often for corrupt or selfish purposes.There needs to be a balance between government and private business, neither can meet all the needs of Missouri alone. Private business should provide as many services as possible with oversight of government to protect citizens against unfair business practices. The government has a role to provide essential services when private business cannot adequately meet the needs of the community. This includes services like the fire department, police department and public schools. I believe healthcare is also an essential service and currently the private system is failing most of us.Please continue to share my posts. I know they are long and most people will not read it, but big issues will not be solved with a soundbite. I’m working on other ways to get my message out there and will be announcing something big soon. Please consider donating, I know money is tight, but there is more we want to do and need funding.Discuss with friends and family. The only way we can change anything is to talk about the issues and make sure everyone is informed. The taboos about talking about politics, salary, religion and sex needed to be broken down. More information should not be feared but instead should be welcomed. What are they afraid we might say? Are they afraid we might agree?

My goal is to win the election, but even if I don’t win I hope to at least inform people about what is going on. To bring more awareness to this community about what is happening in this country and how it affects people here. If I am able to help change a few people’s minds then I will consider this a success.

Role of Government

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This issue is more important than my campaign and affects everyone, so please read, share or talk to other people about this. I want to get the word out to everyone, I think this is an issue both parties can agree on.For those that don’t know what a data center is it is a large building with thousands of computer chips running constantly mostly to train AI. There are currently 4,000 data centers in the country and 2,700 more planned to open. There are several in this area being planned and built. Close to Maryville, Liberty and Independence with more on the way in the near future. The Midwest is a prime location for data centers to expand into. We have lots of land, plenty of water and cheaper electricity. I would prefer to keep it that way.Many of these deals to bring data centers are being done behind closed doors with no input from the community. Some local government officials are even signing NDA agreements with companies so that they cannot let the public know what is happening. This is unacceptable, the government should work for the people, not giant tech companies. Large companies are using AI to take jobs and make more money. The government is using AI to fight wars and spy on us.There is almost no benefit for these communities and many negatives. The jobs to build the data center are temporary and the permanent jobs to run it are few. On the other hand they contribute to noise and air pollution, lead to bad health effects, increase electricity costs for everyone and use tons of water. Often times tax breaks are given to these companies costing us even more money. I don’t see why anyone would want one close to where they live, so why are so many local governments approving them? What is the incentive? Is it just so these huge corporations can make even more money and replace workers with AI?All of this investment may be good for the economy now, but I believe this is a bubble that will pop sooner than later. If it pops and the war with Iran is still dragging on and the price of oil is high then that will be devastating to the economy.AI is not inherently good or bad, but without guardrails and regulations it could be very dangerous. We need to make sure we understand the effects on the environment and human health, the tech companies need to pay for the increased costs of utilities, no more NDAs and more transparency, end the tax breaks and instead let the people who live in the community around the data center share in some of the profits. We all have to come together to organize and make sure we protect ourselves. Many states are passing laws to deal with this and to put a hold on new data centers, we need to do the same here.

There is almost no benefit for these communities and many negatives.

AI and Data Centers

Dear Republicans,My name is Luke Rae and I am a registered independent running as a democrat for the Missouri House of Representatives in District 11. I may have already lost some of you because of the D by my name on the ballot, but I am not a radical leftist. I would appreciate it if you gave me a few minutes of your time.- I am pro gun.- I am opposed to an open border. Illegal immigrants who commit crimes should be deported- The police should have the budget and training they need to keep this community safe- Fraud and waste in government needs to be investigated and stopped to make sure our tax dollars are going where they should beI believe both parties have been ripping off working class Americans and trying to divide us for decades to keep us from focusing on the middle class being destroyed and to make themselves and their wealthy donors richer.School funding should not be a partisan issue. Affordable healthcare should not be a partisan issue. These are things that help everyone. I want to restore the middle class to prosperity and the only way we do that is to vote for individuals that will stand up for you. Who aren't bought and paid for by corporations. Who have integrity. This isn't about Red vs Blue, it's about creating a system that works for a majority of people, not only the wealthy few.There is more common ground between the political parties than we realize. We all want what’s best for OUR country and we must come together and stop the political grandstanding and tribalism. I appreciate all opinions. We do not have to agree on everything, but that can’t stop us from working together on anything.

My name is Luke Rae and I am a registered independent running as a democrat for the Missouri House of Representatives in District 11. I may have already lost some of you because of the D by my name on the ballot, but I am not a radical leftist. I would appreciate it if you gave me a few minutes of your time.

Dear Republicans

Every child deserves the right to a free and high quality public education regardless of economic status. Public education is the backbone of society and the school is the centerpiece of a community and should be funded as well as we can. Stop giving public money to private schools and make public schools better. Update the curriculum for the new world of technology.Please continue reading to learn more.I believe school is not just about learning facts. Learning how to work together and building community are just as important. We need to teach how to think, not what to think. We need to teach about how to be a good citizen and how to thrive after you graduate no matter what path you take.Good schools bring people into the community and create economic prosperity, so when we invest in schools we invest in everyone. When people are deciding where to live the school district has a large influence. If we provide good schools people will want to move and invest here.Well educated students have more opportunities for their future. Knowing how to think logically and communicate ideas eﬀectively will help everyone, no matter what career they choose. College and trade schools need to be much more affordable and assessable, we need the students best suited for those programs to be able to go without having the burden of crushing debt.Schools help kids find a purpose and direction in life. Whether it be sports, academics, band, FFA or anything else that they care about. These programs keep them busy and motivated. We need more healthy outlets for kids to put their energy into and to keep them oﬀ the streets and away from crime.If people believe the system doesn’t work why would they put effort into become a part of the system? If they believe you can’t get ahead anyway then why try? People need something to look forward to and to have hope. The American dream needs to be attainable again. If you do well in school and follow the rules then when you graduate you will have a decent paying job that can support a family.Funding keeps getting cut at the state and federal level which is the opposite of what we need. We need a new school in Saint Joseph. We need to pay teachers more. There is no reason students and teachers have to buy their own supplies. Schools need the resources to help as many students as they can and not give up on anyone.Everyone learns in a different way and at a different speed and we need to be more adaptable. There should be limits on how much the students are on tablets or laptops. Pencil and paper work, in person discussion and teamwork are important too. Learning needs to be more fun, instill creativity and innovation, not just like a boring office job sitting at a desk. Look at what other states and countries that have very good schools are doing and adopt their policies here.Ensure curriculum is applicable to a changing world. Technology is changing faster than it ever has and we have to adapt to a world in which Artificial Intelligence is ubiquitous and can do many of the tasks that are currently considered work.Mississippi was near the bottom of school rankings recently and are now close to the top in a fairly short amount of time. We should follow a similar policy to what was done there with their 2013 Literacy-Based Promotion Act. This program holds students and teachers accountable to higher standards. It also increases the training for teachers. We need to give teachers the tools and authority to be able to effectively teach. Give teachers more money and more freedom, but also hold them to higher standards. This is the most important job in the country and should be treated as such. Kids spend so much time at school and the people there are molding their minds for the rest of their lives.We need to end the voucher system and protect the separation of church and state. Public money should not be used to fund private education. I support private schools, but that doesn’t mean I also can’t support public schools. I support the freedom of religion guaranteed by the constitution, the separation of church and state, and the right of all children to a free and quality education.I also support homeschooling, which is becoming easier and more prevalent. Parents should do what they think is the best option for their children, but there are also many positives to being at school in person. We need to understand the reasoning behind their decision to homeschool. What is the driving force behind homeschooling? Is it safety, bullying, feeling like there is not an adequate level of education or the content of the curriculum? Please let me know why you homeschool and how we can address changes in public schools to make it a better environment.This is not going to be quick or easy but it is necessary. If we give up on the children now we are giving up on the future. If the purposed elimination of income tax passes that will shift the tax burden to fund education more on the working class who are already struggling. We have to find more and better ways to fund education.I look forward to meeting with the leaders of the schools. I would like to know more about their challenges and the best way to address them. I’d like to hear from teachers, principals, superintendents, parents, students, PTO members, and school boards to listen to their concerns and solutions. They are the experts and I want to listen to them.

Every child deserves the right to a free and high quality public education regardless of economic status.

Education

If you are born rich then you have such an enormous advantage over someone born in destitution. If you live in extreme poverty you are hungry, tired, sick and just trying to survive. When your most basic needs are not met you don’t have the time or energy to concentrate on improving your life. That is why we need to ensure all citizens have their basic needs met. These are fellow humans who the system treats as if they don’t matter. They are people that live all around us, who are part of the community. How many extremely smart hard working individuals have we lost to poverty, who may have changed the world, but never got the chance?The entire American system is rigged against the middle and lower classes. It is impossible for normal people to even imagine the amount of money the wealthiest people have. You may think you are doing well because you make more money than most people around here, but it is nothing compared with what the richest people have. I don’t need to be a billionaire, but I think average people should have a little bit bigger share. With money comes power and that is the real issue.Money and power are the goals. Buying politicians to vote for policies that further those goals is how they achieve it. Then they are able to buy more politicians because they have more money and power. This is the feedback loop making everything worse for average people over time.Inflation keeps our money continuously devalued, while the price of everything goes up. The cost of rent, healthcare, groceries always goes up. You work your whole lives hoping you can save enough to retire before you die. The best years of your life are spent working, time that could be spent with family and friends, pursuing your passions and enjoying life. Time to watch your children grow and help them have a life to look forward to.We are charged insane prices for healthcare and given drugs that are known to be extremely addictive. Healthcare used to be covered by most employers, but they offloaded the healthcare costs on to the employees. They did the same thing for retirement benefits. Moved from pensions to 401k’s which moved risk to the worker. Food isn’t healthy and made with artificial everything. Phones and technology are as addictive as possible so they can steal our data, send us targeted ads for products we don’t need and spy on us. The justice system protects the wealthy while punishing the poor.They want to keep us uneducated by defunding and then killing public schools. This is just another way to monetize essential parts of society and suck money out of the middle class just like they did with healthcare and retirement. Private schools will become more popular as public schools get worse, so then we are charged for private school or withheld a quality education.People do become very successful from humble beginnings, but it is very hard. It should be hard, but not virtually impossible. Many people have good lives, but it is becoming more difficult.I am not saying all of this is a grand conspiracy theory, but if the government doesn’t pass laws to protect us from these practices then they are complicit. All of this is done for profit at the expense of people. Everyone should have the same rights, be treated the same under the law and given at least a fighting chance to be successful. The system is built around Wealth Inequality which leads to Political Capture which leads to a Two-Tiered Justice System that then reinforces the goals of the system to increase money, power and control in the hands of the few.We have to have a system that works for more people because if enough people give up on the system itself then the entire system will collapse for everyone.

The entire American system is rigged against the middle and lower classes.

Rigged System

"I will be a voice of integrity. I'll be open about my donors, clear on my stance, and the same person in public as I am behind closed doors."

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Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Michael Bloomberg, George Soros and others paid ZERO federal income tax in recent years. They do this legally by being paid in stocks and then borrowing money at a low interest rate against those stocks. They have unlimited money, but no income, so no income tax. These loopholes need to be closed. Banks make money, billionaires save money and the taxpayers get screwed.Elon Musk is worth over $800,000,000,000. (800 Billion). I wrote it out so you can see all the zeros and try to wrap your head around the number. $1 million would be life changing for me and for most people and he is worth that 800,000 times over. Eight-hundred thousand million dollars.The richest 35 people in America have more wealth than the bottom 50%. 35 people vs 150,000,000 people. How many houses, yachts, private jets and private islands does one person need and how many will it take for normal people to realize no one should have so much when so many have so little?People work an entire year of their lives breaking their backs to make $50,000 a year just to get by. While someone with $1 million dollars in the stock market makes more money just by having money in the first place.The national debt is ballooning. Taxes will have to be raised and spending cut, otherwise the country will go bankrupt and the economy will collapse. They want to tax the people that are barely able to afford to live and give more tax cuts for billionaires. The same billionaires that are above the law, who already own the politicians. They need more help? How much is enough? It will never be enough for them.Capitalism the best system, but it needs guardrails. I am not calling for socialism, just a more balanced and fair capitalism. Large multinational conglomerates own huge parts of the economy. Every industry is becoming more and more consolidated. Consolidation can be good to save costs and bring down costs, but over consolidation leads to monopolistic practices and less competition which is worse for consumers. Companies aren’t happy with making a lot of money, they have to make as much as possible. They make products worse over time and try to extract as much money as possible. We need oversight to ensure a healthy balance.We need to support local businesses so that money stays in the community and will be reinvested here. Smaller local companies can’t compete with huge corporations, so they close and then all that money is being taken out of Missouri. They pay local workers as little as possible and take all the profits, this leaves Missouri poorer and the large corporation owners more wealthy. We need to make it easier for small businesses to compete and ensure strong unions.The issue isn’t only that someone is able to accumulate large amounts of wealth, but what can be done with that amount of money. That money is used to buy politicians, influence legislation and elections. Control the food supply, the media, our healthcare and now they are coming for your children’s education.

How many houses, yachts, private jets and private islands does one person need and how many will it take for normal people to realize no one should have so much when so many have so little?

Wealth Inequality

I participated in a ride along with the Saint Joseph Police Department last night. I wanted to see what our police officers do every day and learn more about the process and the challenges they face. It was very informative and would recommend anyone that is interested to reach out to them and schedule a time to do this yourself.I will always be a supporter of the police. They have a very important job where they put their lives on the line every day to ensure this community is safe for everyone. During my shift I was able to see traffic stops, an attempt to execute an arrest warrant, the arrest of people with a large amount of drugs and the booking process.Stopping crime in progress is important, but preventing crime in the first place is even better. To do this we need to invest in schools, fight extreme poverty and create a sense of ownership and pride in the city. We need to have programs in place to get people the help they need such as mental healthcare, detox, a safe place to stay and social workers to help them get back on a path of prosperity. I was very impressed with the police department as a whole and the initiatives they are taking to continuously improve. Everyone I interacted with was friendly and seemed to genuinely care about the citizens of this community. I look forward to doing this again and speaking to more law enforcement officers.

Stopping crime in progress is important, but preventing crime in the first place is even better.