Credit: Joplin Municipal Jail
A Republican candidate for the Missouri state House has been hit with a federal charge over an alleged scheme to plant cocaine and Adderall on his primary opponent ahead of an election he ultimately won by just 33 votes.
Thomas Christopher Ross, 37, appeared in federal court in Springfield, Missouri, on Thursday after being charged with one count of conspiring to distribute a controlled substance. His detention hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
Federal prosecutors allege Ross enlisted a former campaign manager to plant drugs in the purse or vehicle of Louise Secker, his opponent in the Republican primary for Missouri House District 161.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri, the former campaign manager later went to the Joplin Police Department and turned over a black nylon glove he claimed Ross had given him.
Inside, authorities found a small plastic bag containing white powder and a pink-and-white capsule. The substances were later identified as cocaine and Adderall.
Prosecutors said text messages showed Ross directing the former staffer to plant the drugs while Ross was “out of state on vacation.” Joplin police subsequently handed the case over to the FBI in late July.
“Candidates are expected to conduct their campaigns with integrity, honesty, and respect for their opponents, allowing voters to make informed decisions without fear of misinformation or undue influence,” U.S. Attorney Matthew Price said in a statement.
Ross went on to defeat Secker in the Aug. 4 Republican primary by a razor-thin 33-vote margin, securing the GOP nomination for the district encompassing Joplin and its surrounding area.
The arrest has prompted Peter Kinder, chairman of the Missouri Republican Party, to call on Ross to “immediately” end his candidacy ahead of the general election.
“Being the Republican nominee for public office carries with it a responsibility to the voters, the community, and the principles our party represents,” Kinder said Wednesday in a statement. “The people of the 161st District deserve a nominee who can devote his full attention to earning their trust and representing their interests in Jefferson City.”
The post Republican Candidate Charged in Wild Plot to Plant Cocaine on Primary Rival first appeared on Mediaite.