ABC News: Top Stories
· collected 2026-09-04 · by Luke Barr, Ivan Pereira
Federal prosecutors have charged Thomas Christopher Ross, a Missouri Republican candidate for State House District 161, with conspiring to distribute a controlled substance after he allegedly tried to plant cocaine and Adderall on his primary opponent Louise Secker. The alleged plot was discovered in July when Ross's campaign manager contacted police and handed over the drugs, which were confirmed to be real through testing. Ross is accused of instructing his campaign manager to plant the drugs on Secker as early as May, with text messages referencing the plan. If convicted, Ross could face serious charges and potentially impact the general election in the district.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Thomas Ross, a Republican candidate for Missouri's House of Representatives in Joplin, has been accused of trying to plant cocaine and Adderall on his primary opponent, Louise Secker. Prosecutors allege that Ross gave his former campaign manager, whose initials are "CS", a bag of cocaine and Adderall in June, and instructed him to stash the drugs in Secker's purse or vehicle. The plot was allegedly discussed as far back as May, with Ross texting the campaign manager saying he wanted it done before a specific event on Thursday. In July, the campaign manager contacted the police after being instructed by Ross to plant the drugs, bringing the evidence to them instead. Ross has been charged with conspiring to distribute a controlled substance and is no longer running for office, as the Missouri State GOP has called on him to withdraw from the race.
Written for “Missouri Campaign Scandal” on 2026-09-05,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 4391 · logged 2026-09-05
Missouri Republican candidate allegedly tried to plant drugs on primary opponent: Investigators
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candidate → try → opponent
The state GOP has called on Thomas Christopher Ross to withdraw from the race.
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GOP → call → race
A Republican candidate for a Missouri State House seat was hit with a federal charge after he allegedly tried to plant drugs on his primary opponent, federal prosecutors alleged.
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prosecutors → hit → opponent
Thomas Christopher Ross, who won the Republican primary last month for Missouri House District 161 in Joplin, was charged Wednesday with conspiring to distribute a controlled substance after authorities discovered the alleged plot to plant cocaine and Adderall in the car of Louise Secker, who faced Ross in the Republican primary.
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who → win → primary
Ross's campaign manager contacted the police in July after the candidate allegedly gave him the drugs and instructed him to plant them on Secker, the criminal complaint released Thursday said.
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complaint → contact → Secker
The unidentified campaign manager brought a bag of cocaine and an Adderall pill to the police, who confirmed they were real after tests, according to the criminal complaint.
"[The campaign manager] advised at the time that Ross was believed to have a prescription for Adderall, which was where he believed the capsule originated," the complaint said.
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complaint → bring → Adderall
The campaign manager showed law enforcement alleged text messages between himself and Ross, 37, where the candidate allegedly discussed the plot, with references going as far back as May, according to the complaint.
"I was hoping we could make it happen before THIS Thursday...which would be extreme egg on the face given Thursdays nights event [sic]," the alleged May 31 text from Ross read, according to the criminal complaint.
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text → show → complaint
The police called in the FBI to help with the investigation and the bureau provided the campaign manager with a covert recorder that was used on July 31 to document a meeting between him and Ross, the complaint said.
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complaint → call → him
During the meeting, the campaign manager told Ross that he still had the drugs and asked the candidate if he still wanted him to "try" and plant the drugs on Secker, according to the complaint.
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him → tell → complaint
Ross allegedly agreed and told the campaign manager that he could "call in an anonymous tip that Secker had drugs in her car," the complaint said.
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complaint → agree → car
"[I]f you can pull it off...pull it off," Ross allegedly told the campaign manager, according to the criminal complaint.
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Ross → pull → complaint
Ross defeated Secker in the primary four days later by only 33 votes, and was set to face off against Democratic candidate Aaron Metzger in the general election.
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Ross → defeat → election
I am truly grateful, and I will work every day to be a representative you can be proud of," Ross, a married father of two, said in a social media post after his victory.
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Ross → work → victory
He was held at Joplin Municipal Jail, according to jail records.
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He → hold → records
Ross has not entered a plea and a preliminary and detention hearing is scheduled for Sept. 9, according to court documents.
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hearing → enter → documents
His public defender didn't immediately return messages for comment.
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defender → return → comment
Ross' campaign didn't immediately return messages.
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campaign → return → messages
Missouri Republican Party Chairman Peter Kinder released a statement Wednesday after the charges were revealed and called on Ross to drop out of the race.
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charges → release → race
"The people of Southwest Missouri deserve nothing less than leadership they can trust," he said in a statement.
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he → deserve → statement
An attorney representing Secker sent a statement to ABC News Friday declining to comment on the investigation.
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attorney → represent → investigation
Metzger said in a statement to ABC News Friday that it was "disappointing" to see the news.
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it → say → news
"It looks like the same kind of behavior a lot of us see in our politicians all around the country.
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lot → look → country
It's also one of the reasons I decided to run, because like many others I am tired of seeing this behavior from our elected officials," Metzger said.
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Metzger → decide → officials
