JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – The Democratic leader in the Missouri House said new Republican leadership is one of the main reasons why the General Assembly is moving as quickly as it is during the first half of the 2025 legislative session.

In an interview Monday with FOX 2 News, State Representative Ashley Aune, D-Platte County, acknowledged the limitations of being in the super minority but credits new leadership and bipartisanship for making the Legislature rapidly efficient so far this session.

“It’s been really fascinating to see how quickly legislation is moving through both the House and the Senate this year compared to years past,” Aune said. “I do think that a lot of that work has been bipartisan, which I’m really thrilled about.”

Still, her party’s diminished status can make it difficult to effectively fight a piece of legislation.

“Being in a super majority/super minority situation, there’s plenty of policy being moved through this building that I don’t agree with,” she said.

“There’s a huge disparity between how Republicans and Democrats are treated in this building,” Aune said. “But I think every challenge like that the Democrats have I think that we find opportunity in it, and I’m really proud of how effective we have been.”

Between new GOP leadership in the House, Senate, and governor’s mansion, Aune went on to say there’s a lot more “synergy” in the Capitol. She attributes some of that to Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe’s “brand of retail politics.”

“That’s just kind of what he shines at and that’s how he works the building, through relationships,” Aune said. “I think that’s incredibly effective.”

Even with her praise, Aune knows how difficult it is to be a Democrat in Jefferson City and Missouri.

“It’s tough,” Aune said.

“The Republican majority doesn’t need a single one of our votes to get one of their priorities passed,” she said. “That makes it really tough for our party to find leverage and find opportunities to get our own legislation passed or even heard a lot of times.”

The Democrat lawmaker she has only had two bills that were ever heard. Aune is a fifth-year lawmaker.

But even a member of the super minority, Aune remains optimistic about the future of the Democratic Party in Missouri.

“Here in Missouri, there is so much opportunity for Democrats,” she said. “Whether it is ending the supermajority by flipping some seats and regaining a little bit more balance here in the Legislature (or by relationships).

“Going back to how bipartisan things have felt this year, making sure that our caucus is constantly utilizing the relationships that we build in this building to get bipartisan work done and to get bipartisan policy passed for our constituents.”