Missouri election chief faces whistleblower lawsuit from fired election integrity director

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri's former election integrity director filed a whistleblower lawsuit Monday against Republican Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, alleging he was fired after raising concerns that staff were plotting to file a fake complaint in a legal case about the state's voter database.

The lawsuit by Nicholas La Strada, a Republican, also asserts that Hoskins' office illegally directed local election officials to change the results of a city council race and used state funds for a politically oriented mailing.

Hoskins “will not be able to comment on pending litigation involving a personnel matter,” spokesperson Anne Marie Moy said.

Hoskins already faces scrutiny for his actions in Missouri's congressional redistricting saga. Last Thursday, the state Supreme Court found Hoskins temporarily in contempt of its order not to take steps to use new U.S. House districts backed by President Donald Trump in the November election. On Friday, several voters who signed a referendum petition putting the new congressional district map to a statewide vote in November filed suit seeking class-action status for monetary damages against Hoskins.

The latest lawsuit, though unrelated to redistricting, calls into question Hoskins' role overseeing the November election.

“How can you trust a secretary of state’s office when they fired the man who was telling them what they cannot do,” said attorney Erin N. Vernon, of Independence, the lead lawyer in the lawsuit.

La Strada had served for 14 years as the Pettis County clerk, overseeing local elections, when Hoskins hired him as the state's election integrity director in January 2025. The suit says La Strada was stripped of his administrative access to the state's voter registration system after several months on the job. That came after he raised concerns that the office may have illegally spent funds to mail information in opposition to a St. Louis County ballot measure, the lawsuit says.

The lawsuit contends Hoskins' office illegally intervened in an April municipal election. After the results of a close Marshall City Council race in central Missouri had been certified, Hoskins' office received a complaint about the tallying of write-in votes, recounted them itself and instructed city officials to change the results. The suit says only a judge can order such action.

“If you’ve done it once, what’s to stop them from doing it on bigger elections in November and coming right in and changing it to who they want, their preferred candidate,” Vernon said.

Also in April, La Strada alleges in his lawsuit that he was present for a conversation in which several members of Hoskins' staff discussed the possible use of a “burner phone” and internet protocol address scrambler to file a fake whistleblower complaint as part of a federal administrative proceeding involving the state's voter registration database. The suit says La Strada twice raised concerns with Hoskins, but his Capitol security badge then was deactivated before a hearing in the case and he was fired effective May 1.

The state election integrity director post remains vacant, Moy said.

This photo taken with a smartphone shows a U.S. flag flying in front of the Cole County Courthouse in Jefferson City, Mo., Monday, Sept. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb)

Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins walks into the courtroom for his contempt hearing at the Missouri Supreme Court in Jefferson City, Mo., Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (Liz Rymarev/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP, Pool)

This photo taken with a smartphone shows attorney Erin N. Vernon speaking with reporters Monday, Sept. 14, 2026, at the Cole County Courthouse in Jefferson City, Mo. (AP Photo/David A. Lieb)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky returned to the Senate on Monday for the first time since June 14, when he was hospitalized after a fall in his home.

McConnell's three-month absence from the Senate generated a flood of criticism and online speculation, as the Kentucky senator initially remained quiet for weeks about his condition. The 84-year-old senator eventually disclosed that he had been “briefly unconscious” due to the fall and had also been treated for mild pneumonia in the hospital.

“My recovery has been a long and often frustrating process, and the lingering effects of childhood polio haven’t made it any easier," McConnell said in a statement Monday. “I’m still not quite back to 100%, but I’ve assured Leader Thune that, as I continue with physical therapy on the advice of my doctors, I will do my best to be present for tough votes when our Conference needs me.”

The concerns over McConnell’s absence highlighted increasing public concern about the age of lawmakers and their capacity to carry out their duties. Speculation about his condition grew so intense at one point that Kentucky’s Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear took the extraordinary step of issuing a public letter asking McConnell to update the public in a “transparent manner.”

McConnell’s absence was also felt over the summer as Republicans were unable to advance a farm bill out of committee. His return could give GOP leaders a needed vote as they try to advance legislation on cryptocurrency regulation and college sports.

McConnell, who holds the distinction of being the longest-serving Senate leader, is in his final months of his four decades in office. He is retiring at the end of January after one of the most consequential careers in modern politics.

Republicans have nominated U.S. Rep. Andy Barr to replace him, while Democrats have nominated former state lawmaker Charles Booker. McConnell said he is determined to finish out his term.

McConnell had polio in his early childhood and has long acknowledged difficulty as an adult in walking and climbing stairs.

The physician’s office in Congress in the July statement said McConnell has “experienced several falls through the year” due to his “post-polio condition.” The office said his physical therapy was aimed at reducing the risk of him falling again.

“A comprehensive evaluation by a multidisciplinary team determined that he had no fractures, cardiac abnormalities, stroke, tumor, or hemorrhage,” the physician’s office said.

McConnell was first elected to the Senate in 1984 and was the Republican leader from 2007 until last year, serving as both majority and minority leader during that period. He has remained active as a rank-and-file senator, showing up for work when the chamber is in session, often using a wheelchair to get around.

But the senator’s physical condition has visibly declined in recent years.

He was hospitalized with a concussion in March 2023 and missed several weeks of work after falling in a Washington hotel. He twice froze up during news conferences after he returned, staring vacantly ahead before colleagues and staff. A year later, he fell and sprained his wrist while walking out of a GOP luncheon.

FILE - Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., offers remarks following the Senate Republicans policy luncheon at the Capitol, July 30, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., File)