Missouri candidate wanted campaign manager to plant cocaine in opponent’s car, authorities say

A candidate for the Missouri state House is accused of trying to plant cocaine and Adderall on a political rival. Thomas Christopher Ross, 37, was charged Thursday with one count of conspiring to distribute a controlled substance after the person who authorities say he asked to plant the drugs — his former campaign manager — contacted authorities, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Missouri’s Western District said in a news release. Officials say he tried to plant the drugs on his opponent, Louise Secker, in the Republican primary last month. Ross beat Secker by less than three dozen votes to become the GOP candidate in the House contest in Missouri’s 161st District. Neither Ross nor his attorneys immediately responded to requests for comment Thursday. Secker also did not respond to a request for comment.