ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo.—State Sen. Andrew Koenig, who represents a West St. Louis County-focused district in Jefferson City, has announced a bid for the Republican nomination for  State Treasurer in 2024.

Koenig made the announcement in an interview with “This Week in Missouri Politics” broadcast Sunday. He’d been mulling the Treasurer’s race and a bid for Secretary of State, according to a source. In the Treasurer’s contest he joins a GOP field that includes State Rep. Cody Smith, R-Carthage, and the incumbent, Vivek Malek, who has said he plans to seek the office in his own right following his appointment earlier this year by Gov. Mike Parson. Parson has said Malek would have his political support.

Koenig served in the Missouri House from 2009 to 2016 before winning the State Senate seat, where he’ll be termed out after next year’s legislative session. Koenig and Smith, the current House Budget chair, have played key roles in the passage of income tax legislation over the last decade. In recent sessions, Koenig, chair of the Senate Education and Workforce Development Committee, has championed legislation under the umbrella of “Parent’s rights”, which would require districts to give parents more access to instructional information and bar the teaching of certain concepts tied to race. The legislation didn’t gain final passage.

Lucas Johnson, of Union, Mo is the only Democrat to file paperwork with the Missouri Ethics Commission signaling a run for Treasurer.

There are new developments in the race for Koenig’s current State Senate seat as well.

Joseph Pereles, a retired former Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Drury Hotels, has filed MEC paperwork to run as a Democrat in the race. A Chesterfield resident, Pereles said he was asked to run, and that the idea was not on his "bucket list" as of eight weeks ago. He said his campaign, which will not be self-funded, would focus on issues of healthcare and education.

State Rep. Deb Lavender, D-Kirkwood, confirmed to Spectrum News that she will not run for the seat a second time. Koenig defeated her for the seat in a 2020 re-election bid. Lavender had said she would spend the summer considering her options in a redrawn district that stretches from Fenton to Wildwood. Lavender, who is term limited in the House after next year’s session, decided against taking a second shot at the Senate.

“Still looks that way,” Lavender said as far as not being on any ballot next year, but stopping short of any full declaration. 

Three Republicans so far are trying to succeed Koenig, including St. Louis County Councilman Mark Harder, former State Rep. David Gregory, R-Sunset Hills, and Wildwood Mayor Jim Bowlin.