St. Louis-area primary election results positive for Labor-endorsed candidates

By SHERI GASSAWAY
Assistant Editor

Candidates endorsed by the Missouri AFL-CIO and the St Louis Labor Council fared well in last week’s primary election.

“Overall, we are pleased with the election results,” said Missouri AFL-CIO President Jake Hummel. “In several key races, our Labor-endorsed candidate won the day. I want to personally thank all our union volunteers that took time out of their schedules to hit the streets for our candidates.”

John Stiffler, secretary-treasurer of the St. Louis Building & Construction Trades Council, agreed with Hummel that the election was favorable to Labor.

“I think we had a pretty darn successful night,” Stiffler said. “We didn’t win them all, but we didn’t lose them all.”

WESLEY BELL
One of the more hotly contested races was the Democratic primary between First District Congresswomen Cori Bush and St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell for the Missouri’s First District Congressional seat.

The Missouri AFL-CIO left that race “open,” taking no position on the candidates. Bell, who was backed by the St. Louis Building and Construction Trades Council, won the four-way contest by 51 percent. The results set him up for a win in November because the district is heavily Democratic.

Bell said he was deeply honored and humbled by the trust the people of the district have placed in him and added that the victory belongs to every volunteer, every supporter, and every voter who believes in a vision for a better future.

“I am committed to serving the St. Louis region in Congress with integrity, transparency, and dedication,” Bell said in accepting the nomination. “Together, we will tackle the challenges ahead and build a community where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. To all St. Louisans, in the City and County – whether you voted for me or not – I look forward to earning your support and your trust and making you proud in the weeks, months and years ahead.”

QUADE, KEHOE
In the primary election for governor, the Missouri AFL-CIO endorsed House Minority Floor Leader Rep. Crystal Quade on the Democratic ticket and Mike Kehoe on the Republican ticket. Quade and Kehoe will face off in the governor’s race in November.

Quade said she was proud of the support the campaign has received.

“I look forward to continue earning that support by spreading our message in every corner of our state: Missourians deserve a governor who will fight for working families, a leader who will restore our rights, not strip us of them. Missourians are sick of the extremism, sick of the government overreach of their rights. Throughout my career as minority leader, I’ve been a champion of reproductive freedom and access to abortion, I’ve fought for working families, and as governor, I’ll never stop fighting until we’ve made Missouri the best state to live, work, start a business, and raise a family because Missourians working double shifts today have children who need to beat the odds tomorrow.”

Kehoe said, “Our victory last night showed that hard work still pays off.  That what you do is more important than what you say. And we proved once again that the American Dream is alive and well. As governor, I plan to get things done for the people of Missouri – and there is so much to do. Let’s get to work!”

LUCAS KUNCE
In the primary for U.S. Senate, Marine veteran Lucas Kunce, the Missouri AFL-CIO-endorsed candidate, handily won the four-way race for the Democratic nomination with 67 percent of the vote. He will face off against incumbent Republican Sen. Josh Hawley in November.

“I’m so humbled by the trust and support you, and so many across Missouri, have poured into this movement,” Kunce said in a statement. “Together, we’re going to defeat Hawley and flip this U.S. Senate seat on Nov. 5.”