ST. LOUIS—Candidates in Missouri’s 2024 election cycle will hit an important milestone Tuesday with the opening of filing for the Aug. 6 primary. 

More than 400 candidates filed for a variety of statewide races at the Secretary of State’s office in Jefferson City. Candidates for statewide, state legislative and federal offices lined up long before the doors opened at 8 a.m. They were also able to draw for their ballot position.

The Democratic party blocked Rep. Sarah Unsicker from filing to run as governor. The party refused to accept a filing fee from the blacklisted lawmaker. Fellow Democrats denounced her after her use of social media posts to promote two men who have been linked to conspiracy theories and anti-Semitic ideologies. She also dropped out of a bid for attorney general after accusing her opponent, Elad Gross of foreign election interference. Unsicker was later booted from the Democratic caucus in the House.

Rep. Cori Bush also turned out to file this morning as well as one of her challengers, Wesley Bell. She fired back against the  American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) supporting Bell, saying despite the money being put into the District One race, the determing issues will be local. She also renewed her call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas War.

Bell, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney, talked about the need for steady and effective leadership in the district. He says there are issues like gun violence and lack of access to health care, and these are issues our residents care about. He also mentioned the bipartisian infrastructure bill which brought millions of dolalrs to our district, but Rep. Bush voted against.