ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. — St. Charles County Executive Steve Ehlmann will face a challenger in the August 2022 Republican primary: Missouri Sen. Bob Onder.
Onder said he will file paperwork to run for the position on Tuesday, the first day such paperwork can be filed. Ehlmann has also declared his intention to seek reelection.
Ehlmann has served as county executive since 2007. He is currently serving his fourth term in the office.
Onder, who lives in Lake St. Louis, represents parts of St. Charles County in the Missouri State Senate. In 2022, he has sponsored separate bills that would prohibit vaccine mandates by employers, ban "divisive concepts" from being taught in public schools and allow concealed-carry permit holders to bring weapons onto public transportation overseen by Bi-State Development.
Onder has also been one of the senators filibustering the redistricting process. He has opposed a plan that's projected to continue the state's current representation of six Republicans and two Democrats in the U.S. House in favor of a a map that would give Republicans a better shot at winning seven seats
In his last run for office, Ehlmann won the 2018 general election by more than 20% over Democrat Lorna Frahm. Ehlmann ran unopposed in the primary in 2018.
Before being elected as St. Charles County Executive, Ehlman served as a member of the Missouri House of Representatives from 1989 to 1993, a member of the Missouri Senate from 1993 to 2001, an Associate Circuit Judge and Circuit Judge from 2001 to 2004 in Missouri’s 11th Judicial Circuit.
Primary elections are set for Aug. 2.
