ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo.--At a recent gathering of St. Louis County Democrats in Richmond Heights, State Sen. Brian Williams, D-University City, having already talked about the just-concluded legislative session in Jefferson City, took on another post: Dogcatcher.
The small pup, with leash in tow, had wandered from the woman walking it near A.B. Green Park. Williams gave chase and ultimately helped corral the dog, then returned to the park pavilion where his message turned to building a Democratic bench, and for a party that for the first time since the 1800s finds itself out of any statewide office, how the St. Louis region can help turn out Democratic voters to counteract Republican advantages in rural Missouri.
“We gotta get behind serious candidates that are running,” said Williams, who was sworn into his second State Senate term in January. “We’re not collectively figuring out how to take out the real enemy.”
What he didn’t say to that audience is that a potential 2024 statewide run of his own was still on the table.
“I have not ruled out running for statewide office in 24 but right now I’m focused on being in the Senate. We do have to get behind good, quality, qualified candidates. We cannot afford to waste money in primaries and we got to be ready to take out the Republicans,” Williams told Spectrum News a short time later in an interview.
While Democrats have been in a legislative super minority in both chambers, Williams can point to his work to pass bipartisan police reform measures in recent years along with other criminal justice reforms that helped pave the way for the release of Kevin Strickland and Lamar Johnson after wrongful convictions.
Williams wasn’t the only Senate Democrat at the event who later told Spectrum News that a statewide bid is up for discussion.
“I’m getting a lot of calls, so it’s never off the table, so I just have to make the decision and clear some other things out the way,” said State Sen. Karla May, D-St. Louis. “I am considering the possibility so….everybody else is doing it…it seems like something fun.”
May, in her first State Senate term, is also Chair of the Central Committee for St. Louis Democrats.
Neither pointed to a specific race.
Minority Floor Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, is considering a run for Governor. Breckenridge Hills Councilwoman Sheryl Gladney has filed MEC paperwork for the Governor’s race but has not formally announced a candidacy.
John Kiehne, a former candidate for State Representative from the Eureka area is currently the only Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor.
“I am expecting to have somebody in the primary, maybe one of these elected folks who are terming out, I don’t know, I’ve asked around for about six months,” Kiehne said at a Ballwin event this weekend designed to boost state legislative candidate recruiting. “Inevitably most likely somebody’s gonna run but I’m getting started early, traveling around the state, talking to people and saying hey I’m running, and showing up and helping organize and working with county committees and clubs and regional organizations to be present as a Democrat, not from their area that cares about what’s going in their area. And we’ll see what happens,” he said.
Democrats already have one contested primary, with Elad Gross, the party’s 2020 nominee for Attorney General, back in the race this time, along with State Rep. Sarah Unsicker, D-Shrewsbury.
State Rep. Alan Gray, D-Black Jack, has filed MEC paperwork to run for Secretary of State, while State Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis is considering it.
Lucas Johnson, a financial planner from Union, Mo., is the only Democrat to file MEC paperwork for the State Treasurer’s race so far.
“Primaries aren’t necessarily a bad thing but I think in the next few months you’re going to see people stepping up and a lot of people are exploring those to take a look at them,” new Missouri Democratic Party Chair Russ Carnahan told Spectrum News Sunday. ” I’m very enthusiastic and very confident we’re going to have a strong ticket.”
Democrats can cross off two state lawmakers from the St. Louis region when it comes to statewide races in 2024. State Sen. Tracy McCreery, D-Olivette and State Rep. Deb Lavender, D-Manchester.
“I am 100% focused on serving my constituents as a State Senator and building on the achievements we've already made, including expanding healthcare for new moms, record investments in pre-k, and making our streets safer for families and businesses,” McCreery, who won a high-profile Senate seat last November said.
Lavender previously served in the House before running in 2020 for the State Senate seat won by Republican Andrew Koenig, but returned to the House after the 2022 elections and is in the middle of what will be her final term due to term limits. After next year, Koenig will term out of the Senate, which has already prompted at least three potential GOP successors in St. Louis County Councilman Mark Harder, former State Rep. David Gregory and Wildwood Mayor Jim Bowlin.
Lavender said she'll spend the summer looking at voting trends since the redistricting to see if she'll aim for the Senate again in 2024.
"If there's a trend in the Democrat performance which I think there is and that's something I'm looking at. I'll have decision by the end of the summer," she said.
Hoskins Announces
On the GOP side, declared primaries in the races for Governor and Attorney General could soon be joined by another.
State Sen. Denny Hoskins will announce Tuesday night which office he intends to seek statewide in 2024 at an event near his Warrensburg home. Political observers have pointed to the Secretary of State’s race as the likely destination.
If that’s the case, he’d join Greene County Clerk Shane Schoeller, the former State Representative and 2012 GOP nominee for Secretary of State, as a declared candidate according to Missouri Ethics Commission filings.
If Hoskins, a CPA, were to announce for Treasurer, he’d face a field that includes Vivek Malek, appointed to the post by Gov. Mike Parson in January, and potentially House Budget Chair Cody Smith, R-Carthage as well. Smith has filed MEC paperwork but has not formally announced his candidacy.
In the race for Governor, Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft are both declared candidates, with State Sen. Bill Eigel R-Weldon Spring still in an exploratory phase of the race.
Attorney General Andrew Bailey will seek the office next year after his appointment by Gov. Parson in January, and faces Will Scharf, a former federal prosecutor and an aide in the Greitens administration.
House Speaker Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres, has been openly eyeing the Lt. Governor’s race. Senate President Caleb Rowden, R-Columbia, has been rumored to be considering the Secretary of State’s race but could not be reached for comment.
Cabinet appointments
Parson announced last week that Department of Social Services Acting Director Robert Knodell and Paula Nickelson, Acting Director of the Department of Health and Senior Services, would be elevated to “full status” Directors, effective June 2.
The moves will still require Senate confirmation next year.
Knodell had been serving in an interim capacity since October of 2021. He had been an interim Director at HSS and Parson’s Deputy Chief of Staff before that.
Nickelson stepped in at the Health Department in March 2022, when Donald Kauerauf, Parson’s former Acting Director, failed to get Senate approval by a constitutional deadline last year in an episode that saw Parson grow angry with conservative members of the Senate. At the time of her appointment in the acting capacity, Parson did not commit to seeking a permanent director who would require Senate confirmation.
Until now.
"They have accomplished a lot for the state of Missouri. From improving customer service to helping bring an end to a pandemic, they work hard for the people of Missouri, and we're excited to announce them as full status Directors,” Parson said in a statement announcing the changes for Knodell and Nickelson. “We have much left to accomplish for Missourians, but with both of them in our Cabinet and on our team, we know we can get it done."