ST. LOUIS—The GOP primary for Missouri’s third congressional district has a third declared candidate, with former State Sen. Bob Onder’s entry into the race Friday.

Onder, of Lake St. Louis, had already announced a bid for lieutenant governor, and will leave that race and look to succeed Luetkemeyer, who defeated Onder in a crowded congressional primary back in 2008.

“I am running to make Washington listen,” Onder said in a statement. “Throughout my public service, I have stood up to Democrats and my own party establishment to get things done, and with our country at such a critical juncture, that is why I want to go to Washington to represent Missouri’s 3rd District.”

The district stretches from Cooper County, west of Columbia to portions of St. Charles County and Jefferson County in the St. Louis region.

State Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, R-Arnold and Brandon Wilkinson, of Cedar Hill, who ran against Luetkemeyer in 2022, have already announced their candidacies. Democrat Bethany Mann, who lost to Luetkemeyer in the 2022 general election, is the only announced candidate on that side of the ballot.

A host of potential Republican candidates have either been openly considering the race or rumored to be, including State Sen. Nick Schroer, R-Defiance, former Senate President Pro Tem Dave Schatz, former Missouri House Speaker Rob Vescovo.

Schroer, who like Onder is associated with the Missouri Freedom Caucus, told Spectrum News last month he would run for the seat if Onder didn’t, and didn’t foreclose on the idea he would join Onder in the race, despite considering him a mentor. When asked by reporters in Jefferson City Thursday if he would run for congress or statewide office, Schroer said he was “still thinking about the different options, how to serve the district effectively,” but that he was more concerned about getting pro-life measures to Gov. Mike Parson’s desk.

The State Senate is expected to debate a bill on initiative petition reform next week as part of a push to make it harder to amend the state’s constitution, which currently requires a simple majority. Abortion rights supporters have launched a petition campaign to ease the state’s near-total ban on the procedure, which could be on the August or November ballot.

Filing for the August 6 primary begins Feb. 27 and closes March 26.