Barbara Phifer is a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

and former

United Methodist The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

who was a member of the

Missouri House of Representatives The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 37,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections ...

from 2021 to 2025, representing the 90th district. She was the Democratic candidate in the

2024 Missouri Secretary of State election The 2024 Missouri Secretary of State election was held on November 5, 2024, to elect the Missouri Secretary of State, secretary of state of the U.S. state, state of Missouri. It coincided with the concurrent 2024 United States presidential ele ...

Early life and education

Born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, Phifer is a graduate of

Cornell College Cornell College is a private liberal arts college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Originally the Iowa Conference Seminary (Methodist), the school was founded in 1853 by George Bryant Bowman. Four years later, in 1857, the name was changed to Cornell Co ...

, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and history in 1977. She then attended St. Paul School of Theology at

Oklahoma City University Oklahoma City University (OCU) is a private university historically affiliated with the United Methodist Church and located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The university offers undergraduate bachelor's degrees, graduate master's degrees and docto ...

, where she received a master's degree in theology in 1980.

Career

Phfier has served as a

for over 40 years. Her preaching career included a five-year stint in

Montevideo, Uruguay Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . Montevideo is situated on the southern coa ...

under a dictatorship, an experience which she said gave her "an understanding of the dangers of authoritarianism, which is what I see in the epublicanparty right now". Along with her criticism of

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

, Phifer ran on a platform of expanding

Medicaid Medicaid is a government program in the United States that provides health insurance for adults and children with limited income and resources. The program is partially funded and primarily managed by U.S. state, state governments, which also h ...

, improving public education, and supporting gun control and social justice issues such as women's and LGBTQ rights. Phifer had not thought about entering politics until after retiring from preaching, but decided to run for the seat vacated by

Deb Lavender Deb Lavender (born October 11, 1956) is an American politician who served in the Missouri House of Representatives from 2015 to 2021 and from 2023 to 2025. A Democrat, Lavender represented the 90th district from 2015 to 2021, which comprised all ...

who was running for state Senate. In 2020, Phifer defeated her Republican opponent in the general election for Missouri's 90th state House district. In March 2024, Phifer announced her candidacy for Missouri Secretary of State in front of the

Jefferson City Jefferson City, informally Jeff City, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Missouri. It had a population of 43,228 at the 2020 United States census, ranking as the List of cities in Missouri, 16th most popu ...

Missouri River Regional Library. She criticized book banning efforts in Missouri and expressed a commitment to neutral ballot language. She lost the race to Denny Hoskins.

Personal life

Phifer lives in

Kirkwood, Missouri Kirkwood is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis located in western St. Louis County, Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 29,461. Founded in 1853, the city is named after James P. Kirkwood, chief engineer of the Pacific Railr ...

with her husband Thomas, and has five children and seven grandchildren.

Electoral history

Phifer had no opponents in the Democratic primary elections for the Missouri House of Representatives, winning the party nomination by default each time.

References

External links

Phifer for Missouri
campaign website
Representative Barbara Phifer
legislative website , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Phifer, Barbara Living people 21st-century American women politicians Women state legislators in Missouri Cornell College alumni Democratic Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives Year of birth missing (living people) American United Methodists Candidates in the 2024 United States elections 21st-century members of the Missouri General Assembly