Teresa L. Hensley (born 1959) is an American lawyer who is the former prosecuting attorney for

Cass County, Missouri Cass County is a County (United States), county located in the western part of the U.S. state of Missouri and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 107,824. Its county ...

. She was the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

's nominee for

Missouri's 4th congressional district Missouri's 4th congressional district comprises west central Missouri. It stretches from Columbia to the southern suburbs of Kansas City, including a sliver of Kansas City itself. The district is predominantly rural and relatively conservativ ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and for Missouri Attorney General in

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, losing both times by large margins.

Law career

Hensley earned her

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree from the

University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law The University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law is a public law school located on the main campus of the University of Missouri-Kansas City in Kansas City, Missouri, near the Country Club Plaza. It was founded in 1895 as the Kansas City S ...

, before teaching a criminal-law class at William Jewell College. Hensley joined the private sector in 1991 and was partner in the law firm Hensley and Hensley along with her husband, Kenneth. In December 2004, Governor Bob Holden appointed Hensley to be Cass County prosecutor following the resignation of incumbent Chris Koster, who had just won a seat in the state senate. She took office on January 6, 2005, and won a full term in 2006, defeating Republican Jeffrey Cox. She was reelected without opposition in 2010. Hensley lost her 2014 reelection bid to Republican Ben Butler by a margin of 6 points.

Political campaigns

Hensley first ran for office in 2002 for the Missouri House of Representatives in the 123rd District. She ran on a campaign of increasing teacher pay, shrinking classroom sizes, and hiring more teachers. She narrowly lost the election to Republican Brian Baker. In 2012, Hensley ran to represent

in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. She lost by a margin of 25 points to incumbent Republican Vicky Hartzler. Hensley ran for Missouri Attorney General in 2016. Despite her past losses, she claimed she had a better chance of winning a statewide election. She ended up losing the election to Republican Josh Hawley.Salter, Jim (November 9, 2016)
Trump gives GOP 5th consecutive win in Missouri
''The Springfield News-Leader''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hensley, Teresa Living people 1959 births 21st-century American lawyers Candidates in the 2012 United States elections Candidates in the 2016 United States elections Missouri Democrats Missouri lawyers People from Cass County, Missouri University of Missouri–Kansas City alumni William Jewell College people