Thomas Christopher Ross, the Republican nominee for a Missouri state House seat, has been charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and amphetamine under federal law.
Ross defeated fellow Republican Louise Secker in the August 4 primary election by just 32 votes before federal prosecutors moved against him on September 2.
Authorities allege that Ross handed his own campaign manager a black nylon glove containing cocaine and Adderall capsules from his personal prescription back in June.
According to a sworn affidavit from an FBI agent, Ross asked his campaign manager to plant the drugs inside Secker’s purse or vehicle before a Republican women’s event.
Ross reportedly hoped the discovery of the drugs would create what he described as “extreme egg on the face” for his primary opponent at the event.
The government alleges Ross followed up on the request repeatedly over the following three months, doing so through text messages he apparently believed were in code.
Screenshots reviewed by the FBI show Ross and the campaign manager referring to the alleged scheme using phrases like “the substance of the matter” and “the substance of it all.”
After the campaign manager alerted authorities, the FBI equipped him with a covert recording device for a July 31 meeting held at Ross’s home.
During that recorded conversation, the campaign manager allegedly raised the possibility of planting the drugs in Secker’s vehicle and making an anonymous tip to police.
The former campaign manager subsequently provided Joplin police with a nylon glove containing a plastic bag of white powder, which tested positive for cocaine, along with a pink and white pill identified as Adderall.
The complaint also notes that the campaign manager purchased a two-gram cannabis vape from Ross for $40 at the campaign office and observed several more stored inside a small ammunition container.
Under Missouri’s candidate withdrawal statute, the deadline for Ross to leave the race has already passed, leaving only a provision requiring a circuit court order for ballot reprinting under specific financial conditions.
Ross’s case now moves forward through the federal court system, casting a significant shadow over the Republican Party’s prospects in his state House district ahead of the general election.