Incumbent Fitzpatrick seeks reelection as Missouri state auditor

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KY3) -Missouri voters will see a familiar name on the ballot for state auditor this election.

Scott Fitzpatrick, the current Missouri state auditor, is running for reelection. Fitzpatrick faces two political newcomers in the race: Democrat Quentin Wilson and Libertarian Dustin Coffell. Election day is November 3. No-excuse in-person absentee voting is underway.

Fitzpatrick took office as Missouri state auditor in 2023. Before that, he served as a state lawmaker and as state treasurer. He said he ran for auditor to hold the government accountable.

Asked how the auditor’s office holds the government accountable for taxpayer money and ensures the government isn’t overspending, Fitzpatrick pointed to the state’s finances.

“We’ve sounded the alarm multiple times on the deficit where the COVID money is kind of going away, and the state is gonna have to begin picking up the cost of things that it hadn’t had to pick up the cost of in quite some time and that is what that’s what resulted in this imbalance,” Fitzpatrick said.

Since taking office, Fitzpatrick has completed more than 300 audits of state agencies, school districts and city halls.

Missouri has had a Republican supermajority in state government for some time. Asked how he handles auditing members of his own party, Fitzpatrick said the job should not be political.

“The job itself shouldn’t be that political, because what it’s about is identifying waste in government, getting rid of it, holding people accountable, which we do regardless of what party they belong to,” Fitzpatrick said.

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