| Barbara Phifer | |
| State House: | Missouri |
| District: | 90th |
| Term Start: | January 6, 2021 |
| Predecessor: | Deb Lavender |
| Birth Place: | Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Party: | Democratic |
| Spouse: | Thomas |
| Children: | 5 |
| Education: | Cornell College (BA) Oklahoma City University (MDiv) |
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.[1] She was the Democratic candidate in the 2024 Missouri Secretary of State election.
Born in Washington, D.C., Phifer is a graduate of Cornell College, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and history in 1977. She then attended St. Paul School of Theology at Oklahoma City University, where she received a master's degree in theology in 1980.[2] [3]
Phfier has served as a United Methodist pastor for over 40 years.[4] 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".[2] 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.[2] [5]
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.[2] In 2020, Phifer defeated her Republican opponent in the general election for Missouri's 90th state House district.[6] [7]
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.[8] She lost the race to Denny Hoskins.[9]
Phifer lives in Kirkwood, Missouri with her husband Thomas, and has five children and seven grandchildren.[2] [4] [10] [3]
Phifer had no opponents in the Democratic primary elections for the Missouri House of Representatives, winning the party nomination by default each time.
|-