Missouri Republicans try to remove man with ties to KKK from party ballot

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Republican Party on Thursday denounced a GOP candidate for governor with ties to the Ku Klux Klan, saying party officials will go to court if necessary to remove him from the ticket.

Southwestern Missouri man Darrell Leon McClanahan, who has described himself as “pro-white,” was among nearly 280 Republican candidates who on Tuesday officially filed to run for office.

He is a longshot candidate for governor and faces a primary against Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, state Sen. Bill Eigel and others to replace Gov. Mike Parson, who is prohibited by term limits from running again.

The Missouri GOP posted on social media Thursday that McClanahan’s affiliation with the Ku Klux Klan “fundamentally contradicts our party’s values and platform.”

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“We have begun the process of having Mr. McClanahan removed from the ballot as a Republican candidate,” the party tweeted. “We condemn any association with hate groups and are taking immediate action to rectify this situation.”

In an