Missouri judge allows honorary KKK member to stay on ballot

Last Friday, Cole County Circuit Cour Judge Cotton Walker allowed honorary Klu Klux Klan member Darrell McClanahan to remain on the ballot for Missouri’s gubernatorial election, despite the Missouri Republican Party’s objections.

After McClanahan’s self-described “pro-white man” views were discovered in February, the Missouri Republican Party attempted to remove him from the primary ballot on Aug. 6 for the state’s gubernatorial election. In a statement, the party said that McClanahan’s KKK affiliation “fundamentally contradicts our party’s values and platform.”

Walker upheld McClanahan’s candidacy because he completed the requirements of paying filing fees and filing a declaration with the secretary of state’s office in a timely fashion. Although McClanahan is allowed to stay in the race, Walker also said in his ruling that the Missouri Republican Party “remain free to publicly disavow McClanahan and any opinions the Plaintiff believes to be antithetical to its values.”

Despite photographic evidence and admitting that he was an honorary member of the KKK, McClanahan denied being racist in court filings.