JEFFERSON CITY — Two state legislators who had been seeking different offices abandoned their bids on Tuesday and instead filed paperwork to run for secretary of state.
State Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, R-Arnold, dropped her bid to represent the 3rd Congressional District and joined the Republican race for secretary of state. Earlier Tuesday, House Speaker Dean Plocher ended a campaign for lieutenant governor and launched his bid for secretary of state.
Plocher and Coleman were the second and third candidates, respectively, to officially file for the secretary of state’s race after Senate President Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, said last week he wasn’t running.
On Monday, Jamie Corley of University City became the first newcomer to add her name to the list of Republican secretary of state candidates. She had run a campaign to overturn Missouri’s near-total abortion ban — a “moderate†proposal more restrictive than a competing effort — but later scrapped the campaign.
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While Corley quickly faced criticism from the right flank of the party for that effort, Plocher has faced scrutiny by the House Ethics Committee on a litany of issues.
Coleman, who is sponsoring an effort to make citizen-led constitutional amendments more difficult, said on social media site X, formerly Twitter, “There is no more important job than protecting the integrity of our elections and our founding documents.â€
And by the end of the day Thursday, a fourth newcomer had joined the secretary of state’s race: Wentzville Municipal Judge Mike Carter, who ran for state Senate two years ago.
All told, eight Republicans were running to be the state’s top elections officer by the close of filing Tuesday.
Other Republican candidates for secretary of state include state Sen. Denny Hoskins of Warrensburg; Greene County Clerk Shane Schoeller of Willard; state Rep. Adam Schwadron of St. Charles; and Valentina Gomez of St. Louis.
Also Tuesday, state Treasurer Vivek Malek, a Republican appointed by Gov. Mike Parson, filed to run for a full four-year term as treasurer.
On the Democratic side, Mark Osmack of St. Louis County filed Tuesday to run for treasurer, giving Democrats at least one candidate for all statewide offices on the ballot (which are currently all held by Republicans).
In the treasurer’s office, Malek has faced criticism for a partnership with a politically connected company that has distributed unregulated slot machines throughout the state. In a deal he since pulled out of, stickers advertising the treasurer’s unclaimed property program were placed on Torch Electronics machines throughout the state.
He has also faced criticism for his handling of the MOScholars education voucher program. One of his opponents in the Republican primary, state Sen. Andrew Koenig of Manchester, suggested he would do a better job of promoting the program.
Other Republican candidates running for treasurer include House Appropriations Chairman Cody Smith of Carthage and Lori Rook of Springfield. Later Tuesday, Tina Goodrick of St. Joseph and Karan Pujji of St. Louis County also joined the Republican race for treasurer.
Osmack, meanwhile, said in 2019 he would run for state Senate in 2020 against Koenig for his Senate seat. He was not happy after state Rep. Deb Lavender decided to jump into the race and dropped his bid.
Before that, Osmack, an Army veteran, ran in the Democratic primary for the 2nd Congressional District in 2018, coming in second.
Local primaries in store
Voters in certain legislative districts that overwhelmingly favor one party or another are set to see competitive primary contests on Aug. 6.
Missouri’s open primary system allows any voter to participate in either the Democratic, Republican or Libertarian primaries.
Some local races to watch:
- 1st Congressional District: U.S. Rep. Cori Bush will again face big-name competition as she seeks a third term. She faces St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell and former state Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal. Democrat Ron Harshaw of St. Louis also joined the race last week.
- 3rd Congressional District: Eight Republicans were vying to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer in Congress: Arnie Dienoff of O’Fallon; Chad Bicknell of Arnold; Kyle Bone of De Soto; Brandon Wilkinson of Cedar Hill; former state Sen. Bob Onder of Lake Saint Louis; former state Sen. Kurt Schaefer of Columbia; state Rep. Justin Hicks of Lake Saint Louis; and Bruce A. Bowman, who filed Tuesday.
- 13th Senate District: Incumbent state Sen. Angela Mosley of Florissant is running for a second four-year term in the district covering parts of north St. Louis County. She will face first-term state Rep. Chantelle Nickson-Clark of Florissant in the Democratic primary. Nickson-Clark is allied with County Council Chairwoman Shalonda Webb, who has clashed with Mosley and her sister, former Councilwoman Rochelle Walton Gray, in the past.
General election races
All 163 seats in the Missouri House will be up for grabs in the Nov. 5 general election.
Republicans still control two-thirds majorities in the House and Senate. Democrats have flipped several House seats in recent years and are looking to build on that in 2024. There are also state Senate races that could become competitive.
The biggest fights between Republicans and Democrats will likely play out in certain suburban districts that have a mixed partisan composition, according to recent election returns. Republicans have locked up the state’s rural areas, and Democrats continue to win urban and many suburban seats.
Top targets for both parties in the St. Louis area could include:
- 105th House District: The St. Charles-based 105th House district is open as the incumbent, Adam Schwadron, runs in the GOP secretary of state primary. He beat Democrat Cindy Berne of St. Charles in a race decided by fewer than 100 votes. This time, Berne is set to face Republican Colin Wellenkamp of St. Charles.
- 98th House District: The west St. Louis County district including Manchester, Twin Oaks and Valley Park is being vacated by term-limited state Rep. Deb Lavender, D-Manchester. Democrat Jaclyn Zimmermann is set to face the winner of a Republican primary between Tim Bosch and Carol Veillette.
- 100th House District: First-term incumbent Republican state Rep. Philip Oehlerking, R-Ballwin, faces two opponents in the Republican primary, Jason Jennings and Brant Harber, both of Ballwin. Democrat Colin Lovett is running again after losing to Oehlerking two years ago by fewer than 200 votes.
- The 15th Senate District: With incumbent Andrew Koenig facing term limits, three Republicans are running to replace him in the GOP-leaning district: County Councilman Mark Harder, Wildwood Mayor Jim Bowlin and former state Rep. David Gregory of Chesterfield. Democrats believe their candidate, Joe Pereles, a former executive for Drury Hotels, can put the district in play. Libertarian Jeff Coleman filed to run Tuesday.