Steve Wyatt Earp

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jefferson Review Press Release

Steve Wyatt Earp Announces Candidacy for Jefferson County Clerk

Hillsboro, Missouri

Steve Wyatt Earp today announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for Jefferson County Clerk in 2026, saying he is stepping forward out of a sense of responsibility to his community, to his mentors, and to the next generation of Jefferson County families.

“I never wanted to run for office,” Earp said. “For more than twenty years, I’ve been the guy behind the scenes organizing campaigns, winning tough races, and defending conservative principles across Missouri. I’ve helped elect over a hundred candidates. I never intended to put my own name on a ballot.”

“So why now? Because Jefferson County’s elections are at a dangerous crossroads.”

Jefferson County’s election system, which serves more than 160,000 registered voters, has operated securely and professionally for decades. It worked under Clerk Jeannie Goth. It worked under Kenny Waller. It has earned the trust of voters across party lines. Earp said he believes that trust must be protected, not experimented with.

“Elections are not a place for experiments,” Earp said. “They are the foundation of public confidence. When people lose trust in how votes are counted, they lose trust in everything. The Clerk’s office is a job that demands discipline, administrative competence, and a steady hand.”

Earp said his connection to the office is deeply personal. He organized Kenny Waller’s successful campaign for Clerk in 2018 and remained a close friend and strategic advisor through Waller’s service and later election to State Representative. Waller had declared his candidacy for State Senate, and Earp and his team had met with him to organize his campaign the day before Waller’s unexpected death. After that loss, Earp said he spent months wrestling with whether to remain on the sidelines.

“Kenny believed in bringing people into a room and solving problems, not stirring fear to win headlines,” Earp said. “After he passed, I kept asking myself if I should stay on the sidelines. The honest answer is this: I would not be running if I believed better candidates were stepping forward to preserve the integrity of our elections. But they aren’t.”

Earp began his political career in the early 2000s, leading Republican Sherman Parker to victory in St. Peters in 2002. After serving as Parker’s legislative assistant in Jefferson City, Earp committed himself to campaign strategy and public policy work across Missouri.

Alongside his political career, Earp founded Liberty Lawncare, building a small business with his children and reinforcing values of accountability, hard work, and service, lessons he says shape how he approaches leadership.

“At 50 years old, I don’t feel ambition pulling me into this race,” Earp said. “I feel responsibility. I’ve been blessed with a name that carries weight in American history. But a name doesn’t mean anything unless you live in a way that honors it.”

Earp said his family roots stem from Monmouth, Illinois and then Lamar, Missouri where the famous Earp brothers began their career as Western lawmen. He said Wyatt Earp’s father, Nicholas Porter Earp, was the older brother of Jonathan Douglas Earp, which is the direct family line of Steve Wyatt Earp. He also said his great-great-great grandfather Walter Marvin Earp owned the home where President Harry S. Truman was born in Lamar and, for a time, charged ten-cent tours of the home.

“Legacy matters to me, and I feel compelled to do the right thing in this moment. I want my children, and someday my grandchildren, to know that when Jefferson County needed steady leadership, I didn’t step aside. I stepped up.”

Earp pledged to maintain Jefferson County’s proven electronic tabulation system, protect professional election administration, and keep chaotic political experiments out of the Clerk’s office.

“I’m not running for status. I’m not running for the next office. I’m running to protect a system that works, and to do the job right.”

Earp has been widowed since 2009 and has two children: Sophia Reagan Earp, 19, and Dempsey Wyatt Earp, 18.

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