TROY – The Lincoln County Democrats held their annual grassroots fundraiser Demanding Democracy in September with sold out attendance at LCCOA in Troy. Along with a first-class dinner catered by Taormina’s, an open bar provided by Carpenters Local #32, beer products donated by Krey Distributing, and wine from the Missouri Wine Board, the crowd listened intently to four of the very Missouri speakers.

Raychel Proudie, a four-term state representative from the 73rd district, spoke out about why the current government is dismantling programs which find vital to their well-being in favor of making the wealthy even wealthier. And why Missouri is determined to illegally gerrymander voting districts while at the same time overturning amendments and citizen-led petitions. Representative Proudie will be running for Missouri Senate – 14 in 2026.

U.S. Sixth District candidate Josh Smead is a 35-year-old architect from Liberty. Listening to Smead, you’ll hear the words of a fighter who says our freedom-loving democracy is over unless we return to a government capable of governing. If elected next year, he promises town halls and that he will be listening to constituent’s concerns.

An advocate for military veterans, Fred Wellman has a rich and storied history. He graduated from West Point in 1987, served four combat tours in Operation Desert Storm and Iraq as an army helicopter pilot and as a public affairs officer. Fred retired with the rank of lieutenant colonel after 22 years in the army. An expert on military matters, Fred hosts a podcast called On Democracy. Additionally, his writings can be found on Substack. Adding to his advocacy work, Fred will be challenging Ann Wagner in the U.S. Second District in 2026

Very well known in rural Democratic politics is Jess Piper. After running and losing in 2022 for a state representative seat, Jess realized rural candidates have nearly no financial support, so she created Blue Missouri a political action committee giving rural candidates a financial stake to increase their visibility at election time. You can’t vote for a Democrat if there isn’t one on the ballot and Jess aims to make contested races a reality. Jess speaks all over the country with speaker fees going to fund Blue Missouri.

Signature gatherers representing Respect MO Voters – an initiative petition to prohibit legislators from changing or repealing laws enacted by voters – and MO for LGBTQ – to protect marriage between two consulting adults – were on hand. Two other petitions are available for signatures right now in Missouri: People Not Politicians (PNP) is a referendum petition allowing voters a yes or no on the illegal mid-decade gerrymandering. Also available is Missouri Right 2 Education to fully fund public schools. Missouri schools rate 49th in state funding.

Throughout the evening the focus remained on what Democrats stand for – 1.) regulating big business so as not to turn the nation into an oligarchy 2.) investing in infrastructure: highways, bridges, airports, railways, ports, and waterways 3.) providing a basic safety net for Americans, something most all of us have used at least once in our lives. For more information on the Democratic Party in Lincoln County follow us on Facebook – Lincoln County Democratic Club or www.lcmodem.com