Election Campaigns

Jamilah Nasheed for Francis Slay: Vote Jimmie Matthews if You Don't Like the White Mayor

Tomorrow is the primary election for mayor of St. Louis -- and the campaigns of the two frontrunners are falling apart. At least that seems to be the message of both the Lewis Reed and Francis Slay campaigns, who are today fighting about a Facebook post from State Senator Jamilah Nasheed. Nasheed, ... More >>

Slay Versus Reed: It's Time to Press the Reset Button

Editor: Tef Poe is an artist from St. Louis City. Through powerful imagery and complicated honesty, he has earned a reputation as one of the best rappers telling the story of St. Louis, which is about much more than one place. Poe has been featured in music publications such as XXL and Urb Magazine. ... More >>

Lewis Reed V. Francis Slay: Attacks In Mayor's Race Reach New Level With Lying Charges

"Mayor's Senior Staffers Lie to the Public in Attempt to Cover Up Scandal." So says the latest header on a press release from the campaign of Lewis Reed, the Board of Aldermen President hoping to unseat longtime St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay. And with it comes the sense that the mayor's race has pe ... More >>

Francis Slay v. Lewis Reed: Slavery Image on "Bootlicker" Film Flyer Sparks Controversy

The re-election campaign for Mayor Francis Slay is slamming a flyer for a local documentary called "Bootlicker," which depicts a black man down on his knees in front of Slay next to the word, "Slayvery." With the primary election less than a month away, the battle for mayor has gotten very content ... More >>

15 Presidential Debate Dinner Ideas Inspired By Obama and Romney Campaign Spending

Last week Politico broke down information from a recent review of Federal Election Commission reports detailing Mitt Romney and Barack Obama's campaign spending. It contains everything from office supplies and gas expenses to which hotels and restaurants the respective campaigns patronize most often ... More >>

Woofie Dog at Woofie's and The Campaign

In the very long and tiring journey that is the 2012 presidential election, it's easy to get swept away in the 24-hour news cycles, attack ads and mud slinging. Then again, that's tame compared to North Carolina's 14th Congressional District race. The Campaign starts off with a scandal. Will Ferrel ... More >>

Missouri Polls Shows Gingrich Leading, Brunner Rising, and Randles Edging Spence

​ With the presidential primary campaign circus coming to Missouri both next week (for the election that doesn't count) and next month (for the official caucus), we're likely to soon see a serious spike in the number of polls about us. Which means it's is a good time for some Horse Race talk. Publ ... More >>

Todd Akin's Campaign Staff Exodus Is the Latest Stumble Among a Limping Senate Primary Field

Will a new leader jump start Todd Akin's campaign?​The campaign manager and two other top aides recently left Todd Akin's Senate campaign team. The shake-up seems to be a product of a stumbling operation for a candidate who fumbled away his status as presumed Republican front-runner to challenge ... More >>

Jamilah Nasheed Is Running For State Senate

​Today state Representative Jamilah Nasheed, subject of our August feature story Just Who Does Jamilah Nasheed Think She Is?, announced that she is running for the state Senate seat currently held by Robin Wright-Jones. Nasheed, who is in the middle of her third term in the state House, immediat ... More >>

Aldermanic Candidate Rose Green Seeks to Defeat a St. Louis Political Dynasty

​Down St. Louis Avenue, a few slanted blocks past North Grand Boulevard, there is a large green lawn sign promoting Rose Mary Green for 5th Ward Alderman. The sidewalks here are a bit dark, more reminiscent of the neighboring 3rd Ward than the livelier streets of Old North St. Louis at the eastern ... More >>

Anyone Wanna Guess the Biggest Name to Attend Tammika Hubbard's Fundraiser?

​Updated 11:55 a.m. to show that the last day to register to vote for this election is tomorrow. Also with correct spelling of attribution. With less than a month before the special election, Tammika Hubbard remains the front-runner in the Fifth Ward Alderman race. She has deep political ties-- ... More >>

What's Worse than a Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Who Frequented Strip Clubs? How About One Who Supports TARP?

Image viaRepublican leaders hope personal care packaging mogul Dave Spence can be a more attractive gubernatorial candidate than Lt. Governor Peter Kinder.​Big news yesterday on the Missouri gubernatorial election front. Dave Spence, a businessman from St. Louis, has jumped into the race. Spence ... More >>

Did Todd Akin Trick People Into Thinking Paul Ryan Endorsed Him?

Rep. Ryan supports Rep. Akin's (above) "principled approach to fiscal responsibility" but hasn't officially endorsed him.​There was a bit of confusion late last week over whether U.S. Congressman/GOP Golden Boy Paul Ryan officially endorsed Congressman Todd Akin in his campaign to unseat Senator C ... More >>

John Brunner Officially Enters U.S. Senate Race

Albert SamahaJohn Brunner's anti-establishment credentials make him a formidable candidate in the GOP Senate primary.​ Updated 11:30 a.m. to show that FEC guidelines do not make a distinction between money spent from contributions and money spent out of pocket when it comes to campaign disclosure ... More >>

(Unofficial) Senate Candidate John Brunner Could Shake Up GOP Primary

When will John Brunner officially enter the Senate race?​St. Louis businessman John Brunner's political advisor John Hancock says that Brunner will announce his candidacy for Claire McCaskill's U.S. Senate seat "soon." It seems like Brunner has been on the verge of entering the race for months n ... More >>

Lewis Reed Campaign Gets Big Gift; Francis Slay Campaign Gets Big Names

Slay and Reed: The election is a long way off but the fundraising isn't.​The next election for mayor of St. Louis is still some 20 months away but already the campaigns are under way. Incumbent mayor Francis Slay currently has over $611,000 of cash on hand for the 2013 election, according to the l ... More >>

It's Already 2012 for Claire McCaskill: Attack ads circulating online and on the radio

How Much Does American Crossroads Hate Claire McCaskill?

Watch your back, Claire. They're already out to get you.​You may have heard that Claire McCaskill, Missouri's senior senator, is running for re-election in 2012. She doesn't know who her Republican opponent is yet. (Congressman Todd Akin and former state treasurer and gubernatorial candidate S ... More >>

Robin Wright-Jones: State Senator Decries Post-Dispatch "Hit Piece"

Wright-Jones blames reporter for stirring things up on "sleepy summer afternoon."​Updated 9:35 a.m. with reaction from Jake Wagman.In a page-one story Sunday in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, political reporter Jake Wagman exposes several accounting irregularities in the campaign filings of state se ... More >>

Unions Lining Up Opposition to Rex Sinquefield's Prop A

It's definitely not fair to say that donations from local unions and their counterparts in Washington, D.C., will even the playing field with Rex Sinquefield. The St. Louis zillionaire has already donated an astonishing $10.8 million toward his campaign to force a vote on earnings taxes in St. Louis ... More >>

Anti-Semitic Senate Hopeful Silenced by FCC, But Not Why You Think

whty.orgGlenn Miller a.k.a. Frazier Glenn Miller​Remember Missouri's U.S. Senate candidate Glenn Miller? A former KKK leader, Miller made a big splash this spring when he began airing his anti-Semitic campaign ads on radio stations across western Missouri. Dozens of headlines followed, as did gues ... More >>

Is Woodson Terrace a Hotbed of Political Corruption?

Image sourceDoes anyone out there know what the hell a "Boston Harbor City" is?​Things are usually pretty quiet up in the north county suburb of Woodson Terrace, population 4,200. Mayor Lawrence P. "Butch" Besmer has been in office since 2006, his position mostly unchallenged...that is until t ... More >>

What to Watch for in Today's Illinois Primary

The contest between Gov. Pat Quinn and Dan Hynes has grown increasingly acrimonious.Another dark blue state is in play today, coming on the heels of last month's Democratic disaster in Massachusetts, a special election that probably still has Ted Kennedy turning in his grave. ... More >>

David Plouffe on the Audacious Presidential Campaign of 2008

​ ​During a flight leg in April, [campaign press secretary Robert] Gibbs tried to have a heart-to-heart with Obama. "Are you having any fun at all?" he asked him. "None," Obama flatly replied. "Do you see any way we can make it more fun?" Gibbs replied. "No." So writes President Obama' ... More >>

Former State Senator Jeff Smith Facing 20 Years in Prison, Maybe More

​A little over a month ago, Jeff Smith was still considered a rising star in Missouri Democratic politics. Now his political career is more than likely over. Smith admitted in federal court today that he tried to cover up his involvement in a federal elections violation not once -- but twice. Smit ... More >>

Love the War, Neglect the Warrior: His fame's based on his POW status, but Senator John McCain's made a point of voting against fellow veterans

Two of a Kind: Clayton High grad Sean Quinn and poker buddy/baseball stat head Nate Silver crunch the Electoral College numbers on FiveThirtyEight.com

Hot Contender: If looks count, Sarah Steelman may be your next governor

Farr Out Campaign

A loose-lipped former train conductor is looking to get his long-shot congressional bid on track

The Absurd Third

Last-minute campaign shenanigans mark the final days in the race to replace Dick

Hip-Hop the Vote

The Kucinich campaign gets some St. Louis spin

Purple Power

In less than four years, Grant Williams has turned a weak union local into one of Missouri's most potent political forces. So why's he placing all his bets on One-Term Bob?

Best Local Politician

Richard Gephardt, U.S. Representative, 3rd District

Double Tap

Boyd hopes to serve a cold dish of revenge to Kenny Jones

Joyce Abusive

Nobody's ever voted for Joyce Aboussie, but the congressman, the governor, the mayor and the county executive don't do anything political without her.

Dead Man Voting

St. Louis elections are a national joke. Trouble is, it's not funny anymore.

The Ethics Omission

Enforcers of Missouri's campaign-finance laws would rather hide than seek.

Dead Heat

Efforts to tie attempted voter fraud to the Bosley campaign haven't stuck

New Kid, Old School

Francis G. Slay wants to push a troubled city to the future, and he doesn't think "politics" is a dirty word.

Shut Yer Piehole, St. Louis: We Got It Good!

To think that most of us didn't know any better

Follow the Money

Candidates spend more time raising funds than talking about issues. Prop B aims to change that.

Filthy Riches

The Ashcroft and Carnahan campaigns profit from money laundered through a new and deliberately confusing fundraising scheme

Letters to the Editor

Published the week of July 26-August 1, 2000

This Ain't No Party

Ross Perot launched the Reform Party as the voice of the American people. Eight years later, it's a shrill, staticky free-for-all, and the moderates can't get heard.

Primary Color

Following the greenbacks as Missouri gears up for Super Tuesday

Short Cuts

Hit Parade

News of the Weird

Hightower Power

Radio gadfly and author Jim Hightower discusses his talk show, the fate of the populist movement and the perils of the middle of the road