Kevin Lamar Windham Jr. (born May 29, 1993) is a Democratic member of the Missouri General Assembly, originally elected from the state's 85th House district, and after redistricting in 2022, elected from the 74th district.

Kevin Windham Jr.
Member of the Missouri House of Representatives
Assumed office
9 January 2019
Preceded byClem Smith
Constituency74th district (2023–present)
85th district (2019–2023)
Personal details
Born (1993-05-29) May 29, 1993 (age 31)
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materSoutheast Missouri State University

Personal

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Windham Jr. plays basketball for leisure and attributes his passion for politics in large part to his late great-grandmother, Rose Simon.[1]

Education

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Windham Jr. graduated from Southeast Missouri State University. During college Windham served as a member of Student Government Association, Black Student Union, and the President’s Task Force on Diversity Education.[2]

Windham Jr. has participated in the FOCUS St. Louis Impact Fellows program and University of Missouri Extension’s Neighborhood Leadership Fellows program.[2]

Political career

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Early career

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Prior to his legislative duties, Windham served the state of Missouri as a staffer in the offices of Missouri State Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal and United States Senator Claire McCaskill.[2]

State representative

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On August 7, 2018 Windham Jr. won the four-way Democratic primary for Missouri House of Representatives in District 85 to succeed Clem Smith with 43.7% of the vote.[3] Windham Jr. won the general election on November 6, 2018, securing 82.4% of the vote.[4] As an incoming legislator, Windham was elected vice-chair of the Missouri House Democratic Caucus for the 100th General Assembly.[2]

Windham ran uncontested in the 2020 election for Missouri House of Representatives in District 85.[3]

State committeeman

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In addition to his duties as state representative, Windham was elected to serve as State Committeeman of the 14th Senate District within the Missouri Democratic Party for the 2020-2022 term.

Electoral history

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Missouri House of Representatives Primary Election, August 7, 2018, District 85[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Kevin Windham, Jr. 3,073 43.69%
Democratic Errol Bush 2,538 36.08%
Democratic Eric Reese 999 14.20%
Democratic Jacob Walters 424 6.03%
Total votes 7,034 100.00%
Missouri House of Representatives Election, November 6, 2018, District 85[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Kevin Windham, Jr. 10,457 82.44%
Republican Steven McKnight 2,228 17.56%
Total votes 12,685 100.00%
Missouri House of Representatives Election, November 3, 2020, District 85[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Kevin Windham, Jr. 12,651 100.00% +17.56
Total votes 12,651 100.00%
Missouri House of Representatives Election, November 8, 2022, District 74[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Kevin Windham, Jr. 7,451 100.00% 0.00
Total votes 7,451 100.00%

Legislative career

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Legislative advocacy

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In his legislative duties Windham has focused on increasing access to higher education, criminal justice reform, and community revitalization.[3]

Notable legislation

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Rep. Windham has proposed several progressive bills including HB 910 (2021) which would repeal state sales taxes on groceries while implementing an estate tax, HB1354 (2021) which would create the Missouri Office of Racial Equity, and HB 884 (2021) which would make Missouri's A+ Scholarship a first-dollar scholarship.[1]

Committee assignments

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2021-2022

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  • Higher Education Committee
  • Budget Committee
  • Elections and Elected Officials Committee, Ranking Minority Member
  • Subcommittee on Appropriations - Education
  • Subcommittee on Federal Stimulus Spending

2019-2020

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  • Elections and Elected Officials Committee
  • Local Government Committee
  • Transportation Committee
  • Joint Committee on Transportation Oversight

Awards

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  • Delux Magazine's Emerging 30 under 30[2]
  • Missouri Democratic Party's Young Democrat of the Year[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Representative Kevin Windham". www.house.mo.gov. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Former Southeast Student Leader and State Representative Named 2019 Young Democrat". news.semo.edu. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
  3. ^ a b c "Kevin Windham Jr". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2021-06-14.
  4. ^ "Missouri Election Results - Election Results 2018 - The New York Times". nytimes.com. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  5. ^ "Election Results; Official Election Returns" (PDF). Missouri Secretary of State. August 27, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  6. ^ "Election Results; Official Election Returns" (PDF). Missouri Secretary of State. November 30, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  7. ^ "Election Results; Official Election Returns" (PDF). Missouri Secretary of State. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  8. ^ "Election Results; Official Election Returns" (PDF). Missouri Secretary of State. December 9, 2022. Retrieved January 13, 2023.