Mike Kehoe, Republican, was sworn in as Missouri’s 48th Lieutenant Governor on June 18, 2018, after being appointed to the position by Governor Mike Parson. He was elected by Missourians to a full term on November 3, 2020.
From very humble beginnings, through hard work, determination, and the influence of his mother and the help of his mentor, Kehoe went on to become a successful businessman, a husband, and a father, before running for office.
Kehoe was born and raised in North St. Louis City by a single mother of six children. His mother worked three jobs to support the family, while Kehoe and his siblings also went to work to help buy groceries and pay the bills. At 15, Kehoe started washing cars for Dave Sinclair Ford and worked his way into sales management by his early twenties.
When he was 25, Kehoe was tasked with moving to Linn, Missouri, to help revive a struggling van conversion and ambulance manufacturing company. Kehoe purchased the company, and during his time leading Osage Industries, he expanded sales across the nation and created dozens of new jobs.
In 1992, he purchased the Ford and Lincoln-Mercury franchises in Jefferson City, which he owned and operated as ‘Mike Kehoe Ford-Lincoln’ as one of the youngest Ford dealers in the nation until 2011.
In 2005, Kehoe was appointed by Governor Blunt to serve on the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission, and in 2009 was elected chair.
In 2010, Kehoe was elected to the Missouri Senate to represent the Sixth Senatorial District covering seven mid-Missouri counties: Cole, Gasconade, Maries, Miller, Moniteau, Morgan and Osage. He was reelected in 2014 and served as the assistant majority floor leader and the majority floor leader.
As lieutenant governor, Kehoe serves as the ex officio president of the Missouri Senate and serves as the state’s advocate for seniors and veterans. He also oversees the Missouri Arts Council and the Buy Missouri Program, an economic development initiative created to actively promote Missouri manufacturers and businesses. Under his leadership, the Buy Missouri program has grown to more than 500 members.
As lieutenant governor, Kehoe is a member of several boards and commissions, including the Missouri Development Finance Board, the Missouri Housing Development Commission, and the Missouri Tourism Commission. Lieutenant Governor Kehoe chairs the Missouri Food, Beverage, and Forest Manufacturing Products Task Force, working to promote and grow Missouri’s agriculture industry.
Mike has been honored by the Missouri Cattlemen’s Association, the Missouri Association of Electric Cooperatives, and many others for his legislative accomplishments, including being named the Statesman of the Year Award for his work in the Missouri Senate as floor leader. As a businessman, he received the Time Magazine Quality Dealer Award, Ford’s President Award, and was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame.
Lieutenant Governor Kehoe and his wife, Claudia, have called mid-Missouri home for more than 30 years and are the proud parents of four children. Mike and Claudia are first-generation farmers with a beef cattle production business on the family farm in Phelps and Pulaski Counties. Lieutenant Governor Kehoe remains a small businessman at heart, never forgetting the lessons learned from years of hard work Dave Sinclair Ford, Osage Industries and Mike Kehoe Ford-Lincoln.