2026 Government Outlook: Brad Hudson

Hudson’s 2026 Projection: You’re going to see early on in [the lawmaking] session likely some contention, much of it because of leftovers of what’s happened (in 2025). As session progresses, I think you’re going to see a lot of conversations taking place. I think you’re going to see folks come to the table. And I think that we are going to get back into that productive mode that we were in for much of last regular session. So a little rocky to start, but we’re going to get our feet under us, and we’re going to have another good session.

What are the greatest opportunities this session for Missouri lawmakers, especially in the Senate?
The Missouri Senate was more productive in 2025 than it has been in at least five years, if not a decade. We had opportunities to get some good stuff done. Legislators were working with one another. We didn’t see the level of gridlock and that sort of thing that we had seen in the past. The majority party stuck together on issues that are important to Missourians, that we needed to get across the finish line, and we were productive. And a productive Senate is good for Missouri. And I’d like to be able to build upon that.

You have a new appointment by Sen. Cindy O’Laughlin, the Missouri Senate President Pro Tem: vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Some people consider that a pretty powerful committee, and in her announcement, O’Laughlin talked about the importance of succession planning. She noted you’re eligible to serve in the Missouri Senate through 2032. What are your hopes for that role you’re taking up?
I’m incredibly excited to be serving in that role. It’s an honor to be named the new vice chair of the appropriations committee here in my first year as a senator. I expect that as we dig into the budget, as we consider the kind of revenue that we’re expecting and revenue that we won’t necessarily have that we’ve had in the past, we’re going to have some tough decisions to make. However, I don’t think that the sky is falling. I think we are going to be able to still get good things done for the citizens of Missouri. Now we’re going to have to scrutinize the dollars that we spend. This will give us an opportunity to trim the fat and focus on some areas in government that we can make leaner, that will not affect our citizens negatively.

Missouri, last year, became the first state to exempt all capital gains taxes for individuals. And Gov. Mike Kehoe said phasing out the income tax is a “top priority” going into this next lawmaking session, even as the State Office of Administration said back in August there’s a shortfall of $1 billion. What do you think needs to be done here? Is it possible to remove those taxes and maintain all the appropriate governance there should be?
Yes, it is possible. We’ve got to do it smart, right? And I am all for Gov. Kehoe’s mission and goal to eliminate the income tax. I am a conservative Republican. I haven’t seen a tax that I wouldn’t love to cut or eliminate. Now we do need to understand, and I know the governor understands this, and my colleagues understand this as well, that in order to be fiscally responsible as we are cutting taxes, we need to cut spending as well. Cuts that should always come first, I believe, are the ones that we can make that will help trim the fat, so to speak, but our citizens will not notice any negative effect on their day-to-day lives. I’m looking forward to hearing more about the governor’s plan. There are ways that we can accomplish this over time without creating an unnecessary strain on our budget in a way that we cannot handle.