BY: JACOB POLITTE
Managing Editor
The 2022 midterm elections are fast approaching, and there are many different seats, both locally and nationally that are up for grabs this year.
US Senate Race:
Background: Long-time Missouri State Senator Roy Blunt is retiring. Having served in the United States Congress both as a State Representative and Senator since 1997, Blunt’s vacation of his Senate seat leaves a wide opening for further changing the tone of Missouri’s political reputation… for better or worse.
Eric Schmitt (Republican)
The current Attorney General of Missouri, Schmitt looks to take a similar political path to his predecessor, Senator Josh Hawley, by claiming the coveted Senate seat. Schmitt’s tenure as Attorney General, which began after Hawley’s ascension to national office in 2019, has been notable for his strong stances against many issues, and willingness to sue many.
He has filed lawsuits to have the Affordable Care Act invalidated by courts, sued school districts and municipalities for implementing mask mandates and signed onto, along with others, an amicus brief that argued that LGBTQ+ people are not protected by workplace discrimination bans.
Regarding matters outside of the state, he’s also filed a lawsuit against China’s handling of the pandemic, making Missouri the first U.S. state to do so. He believes that current President Joe Biden did not legitimately win the 2020 Presidential election, and has sued that administration for what he believes to be unjust environmental policies.
Before his tenure as Missouri Attorney General, he had served as the State Treasurer from 2017-2019, and had previously been elected to the State Senate, serving from 2009-2017. Prior to that, he had been an alderman for the nearby city of Glendale from 2005-2008, and had been a lawyer since passing the Missouri State Bar Examination in 2000.
Trudy Busch Valentine (Democrat)
As an heiress to the famed Busch family (part of the St. Louis institution Anheuser-Busch Brewery), Busch Valentine is a political unknown. Despite this, and being a relative late arrival into the race, she prevailed in a hotly contested primary election, finally besting top contender Lucas Kunce at the polls in August to claim the nomination.
Busch-Valentine’s campaign website describes her as “a mother, nurse, supporter of children’s causes, and a fourth-generation Missourian running for the U.S. Senate to put people first — with honesty and integrity.”
She earned a nursing degree from Saint Louis University in 1980, as well as a Master of Arts in Pastoral studies from the Aquinas Institute of Theology in 2007, and currently serves on a nursing board and works with multiple charitable organizations that focus on children’s issues.
Criticism had been directed at Valentine earlier this year. The Riverfront Times took her to task in July when STLToday.com had reported she said that she’d “spend much of the primary election focusing on Democratic voters in the state’s major population areas” and “pledged to make more forays into the rural, red part of the state if she wins.”
Among several issues that led to the beginning of her political career, including the death of son from an opioid overdose in 2020, Busch-Valentine told the Missouri Independent earlier this year that she was also inspired to enter politics out of a desire to speak up for women’s rights.
Analysis: While Busch-Valentine has the finances to continuously campaign and any result is possible, she absolutely faces an uphill battle in getting elected. Her seemingly continuing refusal to campaign in Missouri’s rural, Republican held districts and counties which dominate the state, will not help her campaign. Schmitt may be controversial, but many in the state either agree with his rhetoric or just would vote for him solely because he is a Republican.
US House Of Representatives District 1 Race:
Background: “District 1” encompasses all of the city of St. Louis as well as most of north St. Louis County, including the cities of Maryland Heights, University City, Ferguson and Florissant. It is without question, the most Democratic congressional district in the state.
Andrew Jones (Republican)
Jones is the current Executive Vice President of Business Development and Marketing at Southwest Electric, and much like Busch Valentine is new to politics. He was born in Cairo, Illinois, and raised in East St. Louis. He also holds a variety of college degrees, including Bachelor of Science in Economics and a minor in Business Administration from Lincoln University in Jefferson City, as well as an MA in International Business from Webster University and an MBA from Washington University’s Olin School of Business.
Jones’ campaign website outlines his stances on multiple issues. He believes in transparency in education and that parents should be able to partner with educators and administrators on the books that are in school libraries. He believes that government spending is “out of control” and believes that his business experience will be an advantage in helping to set “sound fiscal policies” that guide the federal government’s spending.
He also is pro-life, and “will push to close the border and invest in our first responders.”
Cori Bush (Incumbent, Democrat)
Bush, the current incumbent, won election to the United States House Of Representatives in November 2020 after surprisingly besting then incumbent William Clay, Jr in the primaries earlier that year. Her website says that since the beginning of her term, she has “championed legislation that puts St. Louis front and center,” and has been a “relentless advocate for racial, social, health care, and environmental justice.”
She graduated from Cardinal Ritter High School and attended Harris-Stowe State University and the Lutheran School of Nursing. She also became a faith leader in the community, becoming an ordained pastor. She also participated in the 2014 Ferguson Protests, helping to provide triage-medical care and resources in the midst of the riots.
Bush’s tenure has seen her unapologetically defend and campaign for a number of causes. For example, Bush took a leading role in fighting to extend the CARES Act’s eviction moratorium, even going as far as to sleep on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to make her point. Her efforts there were successful, as the moratorium was extended.
In her current position, she serves on on the House Judiciary Committee (where she is Vice Chair of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security) and on the House Oversight Committee. She is a part of eight different caucuses, including: Congressional Black Caucus; Congressional Progressive Caucus; Democratic Women’s Caucus; Pro-Choice Caucus; Congressional Medicare for All Caucus; LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus; Black Maternal Health Caucus and the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force.
Analysis: Bush looks to run away with this one, but anything is possible.
US House Of Representatives District 2 Race:
Background: “District 2” encompasses the remainder of St. Louis County, including Affton, Maplewood, and Kirkwood. It has been represented in Congress by Rep. Ann Wagner since Jan. 2013.
Ann Wagner (Incumbent, Republican)
Rep. Wagner succeeded Rep. Todd Akin, who vacated his post in an infamous and ill-fated run against then-Senator Clarie McCaskill in 2012. Born and raised in St. Louis, she graduated High School from Cor Jesu Academy in Affton, and from college at Mizzou with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.
Six years after graduating, she began her political journey, even serving as the Missouri State Director for then-President George H. W. Bush’s ultimately unsuccessful reelection campaign in 1992. In 1999, she began working in the Missouri GOP, becoming the chair of the organization. Beginning in 2001, she simultaneously held this position as well as becoming a co-chair of the Republican National Convention. In 2005, she was named the United States Ambassador to Luxembourg, a post she held until mid-2009. She decided to run for Akin’s vacant seat, and won the election.
During her time holding national office, she “has been committed to regulatory reform, authoring bills such as the Retail Investor Protection Act which protects access to retirement savings for middle class families” according to her website. She also staunchly supports and authors legislation that combats sex-trafficking and online exploitation on the federal level, such as the SAVE Act (2021) and the Put Trafficking Victims First Act and the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (2018).
Wagner is pro-life, even saying on the day that Roe v Wade was struck down that it was “a historic moment for families, for mothers and for the precious unborn children who cannot protect themselves.”
Trish Gunby (Democrat)
Trish Gunby is currently a State Representative that represents Missouri’s 99th District, which encompasses the cities of Des Peres, Manchester, Valley Park and other adjacent townships and villages. She has served in this role since her election to office in November of 2019. She is a graduate of Parkway West High School, and an alumnus of the University of Tulsa.
Last November, she spoke with then-Montage reporter Max Wilson, and said that she was running for office because she didn’t feel like she was being represented in this congressional district. “[Wagner’s constituents] have asked for more from [her] over the years in terms of town halls and trying to understand her votes and positions on certain issues,” she said.
Gunby told Wilson that she and Wagner “were not on the same page” regarding the abortion issue.
“If you had told me 40 some odd years ago,” Gunby said, “that we would actually be moving backward, as Texas has, as Missouri has, and other states are doing…I would not have believed that,” she said. “Reproductive health is between that person, their healthcare provider and their partner, and the government should not be involved.”
In the wake of the “Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health decision by the Supreme Court that nullified “Roe v. Wade,” Gunby referred to that decision as “disastrous” and said that “If we allow extremists to take away our bodily autonomy, everything else is on the table.”
Other goals of Gunby’s include improving healthcare and “strengthening democracy” by passing new voting registration, including the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
Analysis: Gunby has good intentions, but Wagner seems to have an iron grip on her seat, whether or not she is trying to. Wagner likely wins this one out simply out of familiarity to many voters, but it will be close.
State Representative Race (Kirkwood)
Background: Missouri House District 90 will either remain in Democratic control or shift to Republican control in this local election for state-level office.
Gary Bokermann Jr. (Republican)
Bokermann, a business consultant for Perot Companies, has never held political office. He holds a degree in business administration.
According to reporting from Kevin Murphy of the Webster-Kirkwood Times, Bokerman appeared before Kirkwood School District Board of Education meetings denouncing the district’s mask mandate policies at the time. He later appeared before the board and accused them of “being in violation of criminal law, and promised a lawsuit should the mandate continue.”
Bokerman doesn’t appear to have an official campaign website, but according to his personal social media feeds (which are public and can be viewed by anyone), Bokerman is vehemently against COVID vaccinations, and says they cause numerous health issues. He also appears to doubt the legitimacy of elections, even saying in a Facebook post “One would think that my biggest adversaries would be the current Democrat office holder and other Democrats in Kirkwood, however former Republican office holders in the area have tried to become the biggest roadblock to ME winning an election as a Republican in Kirkwood.”
Bokerman also revealed to Murphy that he had been diagnosed with Stage IV stomach cancer earlier this year, but chose to run anyway.
Barbara Phifer (Incumbent, Democrat)
Phifer, formerly a United Methodist pastor for four decades, was elected to the Missouri House in 2020. During her tenure, she has served on the public safety, ways and means, higher education and transportation House committees.
She obtained a master’s of divinity degree from the St. Paul School of Theology in Leawood, Kansas, and has served as pastor for churches in both Missouri and abroad; as a result she can speak fluent Spanish.
Phifer, along with others, advocated for a standard $15 minimum wage that was later passed for state workers. She also was strongly in favor of expanding Medicaid, especially for women dealing with postpartum depression.
Phifer said she supports the elimination of sales tax on food items, but admits that Governor Mike Parson’s recent reduction of income taxes for the highest earners in Missouri will make that difficult. However, she is willing to reach across the aisle to get it done, as she told Murphy that she “is very good at collaborating.”
Phifer also told Murphy that she supports “a fundamental right to bodily autonomy” for women, that she would attempt to pass legislation legalizing marijuana if voters don’t this election, and also said that Missouri needs common sense gun control legislation.
Analysis: Phifer seems to have this one in the bag, but it’s not Bokerman’s rhetoric that will do him in with many voters. It’s the fact that he has no significant platform other than his social media accounts. Phifer does not have much experience, but she has had a mostly successful tenure, even as part of the minority in the state government.
For more information about what may be on your ballot, visit https://stlouiscountymo.gov/st-louis-county-government/board-of-elections/.
