St. Louis and St. Charles County Executive Races
Steve Ehlmann wins the Republican nomination for reelection as St Charles County Executive against two competitors, Bill Eigel and Jason Law. He's favored to win against Democrat David Veneziano in the November general election.
In St. Louis County, Assessor Jake Zimmerman wins the Democratic primary for Executive. He faces Dennis Hancock as the Republican in November.
Missouri voters reject ballot measure to eliminate the state income tax
Amendment 5 would have directed the legislature to phase out the individual income tax as state revenue grows. To spur that along, it also would have allowed lawmakers to expand the sales tax to “any goods and services.” Lawmakers would have had five years to decide which sales to tax without needing further voter approval. The Missouri measure marks the first time since the modern income tax began over a century ago that a U.S. state legislature has asked voters whether to eliminate it. Alaska is the only state so far to impose a general individual income tax and then repeal it, doing so in 1980 by a legislative vote. Massachusetts voters rejected income tax eliminations in 2008 and 2002 that were initiated by citizens, not lawmakers.
Missouri voters reject proposal for the nation’s most difficult standard for constitutional amendments
Amendment 4 would have required future constitutional amendments proposed by citizen initiatives to pass by a majority in each of the state’s congressional districts instead of a simple statewide majority. No other state has a standard that high. The Republican-led Legislature referred the measure to the ballot after voters in recent years narrowly passed several controversial amendments through citizen initiatives. Those measures enshrined abortion rights, legalized recreational marijuana, allowed sports betting and expanded Medicaid coverage to low-income adults. But none of those would have passed under a requirement for amendments to win approval in all congressional districts. Under Amendment 4, the higher standard would have applied only to citizen-initiated amendments — not ones placed on the ballot by the legislature.
US Rep. Wesley Bell wins Missouri Democratic primary in rematch against former Rep. Cori Bush
Bell’s primary victory is likely to propel him to reelection in November in the heavily Democratic 1st Congressional District in St. Louis. Bell, a former St. Louis County prosecutor, was backed by a political group affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. The pro-Israeli group also financed his ouster of Bush in the 2024 primary after Bush criticized Israel’s response to Hamas’ attack on the country in 2023. Bush had been a part of a progressive group of House members known as the “Squad.” The rematch provided a test of America’s evolving viewpoints on Israel since the last election. A recent survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that about 58% of Democrats now say the U.S. is “too supportive” of Israel, up from 45% in an AP-NORC poll from January 2024.
Paul Berry wins Republican nomination for U.S. House in Missouri's 1st Congressional District
Ann Wagner wins Republican nomination for U.S. House in Missouri's 2nd Congressional District
Bob Onder wins Republican nomination for U.S. House in Missouri's 3rd Congressional District
Mark Alford wins Republican nomination for U.S. House in Missouri's 4th Congressional District
Eric Burlison wins Republican nomination for U.S. House in Missouri's 7th Congressional District
