FOILED

Republican House Candidate Accused of Trying to Plant Cocaine on Rival

A campaign manager foiled the plot and alerted police, prosecutors say.

A Republican running for the Missouri state House has been arrested after he tried to have cocaine planted on his opponent, prosecutors allege in a news release. Thomas Christopher Ross, 37, has been charged with a count of conspiring to distribute a controlled substance after the man he allegedly tasked with planting the drugs, his former campaign manager, called police and foiled the plot, authorities say. The alleged scheme targeted local realtor Louise Secker, a fellow Republican running for the same seat. The ex-campaign manager claims he was instructed to plant the cocaine, as well as Adderall, in Secker’s car or purse. The chairman of the Missouri Republican Party, Peter Kinder, said in a statement that Ross should drop out of the race due to these “serious and deeply troubling” charges. Ross beat Secker by less than three dozen votes last month to become the Republican candidate in the race to represent Missouri’s 161st District, which includes Joplin and surrounding areas.