Chris Koster

He was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Missouri in the 2016 election in which he was defeated by Republican nominee Eric Greitens in the general election.

In October 2014, a California judge dismissed a lawsuit Koster filed, rejecting the arguments of six states that challenged California's prohibition on the sale of eggs laid by caged hens kept in conditions more restrictive than those approved by California voters in a 2008 ballot initiative, Proposition 2. Judge Kimberly Mueller ruled that the states lacked legal standing to sue on behalf of their residents and that Koster and other plaintiffs were representing only the interests of egg farmers, rather than "a substantial statement of their populations". According to the Kansas City Star. Koster's office spent more than $83,000 on the failed lawsuit.

Koster is an advocate of the death penalty, and as of July 2013, there were 21 inmates on death row in Missouri whose executions he was pressing the Supreme Court of Missouri to expedite. After the 21 inmates filed suit before the state Supreme Court against the Missouri Department of Corrections over the use of the drug propofol used in lethal injections, concerning cruel and unusual punishment, the state Supreme Court temporarily halted the further use of the death penalty until the case had been ultimately decided. With Missouri law allowing for the use of other forms of the death penalty in cases where lethal injection is not available, Koster has advocated the use of gas chambers to execute Missouri prisoners.

In 2012, after Koster's staff of 56 moved to a portion of the Broadway Building in Jefferson City, a $3.2 million request was made for "repairs, replacements and improvements" on two floors, "to include interior demolition, construction of new interior finishes, upgrades to the HVAC and electrical systems, new furniture, fixtures and equipment." Koster's own office is in the Supreme Court Building. "Funding the proposed renovation would not come from general revenue, but rather about $400,000 in administrative allowances that accompany federal grants, and about $2.8 million from the Merchandising Practices Revolving Fund. Money recovered by the state in consumer fraud cases goes into the fund, which is available to pay expenses of the attorney general's office."

On August 5, 2008, Koster narrowly defeated State Representative Margaret Donnelly in the Democratic primary for the nomination for Missouri Attorney General. Koster won despite accusations that his campaign violated state law in raising money from multiple committees. He also survived the disclosure that he played a supporting role in a plagiarism episode that damaged Attorney General William L. Webster’s campaign for governor in 1992. Fresh out of law school, Koster worked for Webster, a Republican, as an assistant state attorney general. His campaign was not easily won because he had to overcome the label of "opportunist" as a result of switching parties during the '08 election. He then went on to defeat Republican State Senator Mike Gibbons in the general election, 52.83% to 47.17%. He was sworn in as attorney general on January 12, 2009, succeeding Jay Nixon.

Koster championed legislation for Truth in the Missouri Court System, and proposed a bill (SB55) that aimed to eliminate paternity fraud. On August 1, 2007, Koster made Missouri political history when he announced that he was leaving the Missouri Republican Party to become a Democrat. Citing his longstanding differences with the Republican Party on issues like stem cell research, workers' rights, and the non-partisan court plan, Koster said that the Missouri Republican Party had become too beholden to the extreme right-wing to lead the state of Missouri. He said, "Today, Republican moderates are all but extinct."

Koster was first elected to the Missouri Senate in 2004 as a Republican. He represented Missouri's 31st Senatorial District, which consists of Cass, Johnson, Bates and Vernon counties. During his time in the Missouri General Assembly, Koster played key roles in the debates over stem cell research, tort reform, and the elimination of Medicaid fraud. In 2006, he carried legislation in the Senate that overhauled Missouri’s eminent domain laws. He served on these Senate committees:

Chris Koster (born August 31, 1964) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 41st Attorney General of Missouri, from 2009 to 2017. Before he was elected attorney general, he had served in the Missouri Senate as a Republican until August 1, 2007, when he switched to the Democratic Party.