Barbara Phifer

Barbara Phifer is a former United Methodist pastor who started her term as a Democratic member of the Missouri House of Representatives, representing the state's 90th House district, in January 2021. She is a candidate in the 2024 Missouri Secretary of State election.

Career
Phifer is a graduate of Cornell College and St. Paul School of Theology, and served as a United Methodist pastor for over 40 years. Her preaching career included a five-year stint in Montevideo, Uruguay under a dictatorship, an experience which she said gave her "an understanding of the dangers of authoritarianism, which is what I see in the [Republican] party right now". Along with her criticism of Donald Trump, Phifer ran on a platform of expanding Medicaid, improving public education, and supporting gun control and social justice issues such as women's and LGBTQ rights.

Phifer had not thought about entering politics until after retiring from preaching, but decided to run for the seat vacated by Deb Lavender who was running for state Senate. In 2020, Phifer defeated her Republican opponent in the general election for Missouri's 90th state House district.

In March 2024, Phifer announced her candidacy for Missouri Secretary of State in front of the Jefferson City Missouri River Regional Library. She criticized book banning efforts in Missouri and expressed a commitment to neutral ballot language.

Electoral history

 * Rep. Phifer has not yet had any opponents in the Democratic Primary election, winning the party nomination by default each time.

Personal life
Phifer lives in Kirkwood, Missouri with her husband, and has five children and seven grandchildren.