Just over hours after the midterm elections finished, RFT caught up with Anita Manion, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, in-between a day jam-packed with media interviews. Manion discussed the election results, what stood out to her and what it all means going forward. It’s the afternoon after Election Day –– what is your first reaction to yesterday’s results?
No matter which way you slice it, this was a huge week for Missouri-based fans of moving slow and being hungry, as 53 percent of midterm election voters approved a constitutional amendment legalizing recreational weed in the Show-Me-State. While there were some disagreements among pro-marijuana factions — with some fretting that the measure would enshrine the state's controversial licensing process into something of a monopoly, while others argued "let's do it anyway I want some weed" — the dust has now settled and the people have spoken: Cannabis will be legal in Missouri going forward. That's all well and good, and even Amendment 3's critics have to admit that not jailing people over a plant is a step in the right direction.
We set record high temperatures in St. Louis today, but that hasn’t stopped winter weather from creeping up behind us. The National Weather Service of St. Louis says that as of 12:15 p.m. today, we hit 80 degrees at Lambert International Airport, beating the previous record of 78 degrees set on this day in 2020. And it might not even end at 80 — the temperature might go even higher yet today.
A St. Louis doctor has put out a call on social media on behalf of a young patient with not long to live and whose dying wish is to see the new Black Panther movie, Wakanda Forever. Angela Hirbe is a doctor at Washington University School of Medicine who also runs a research lab trying to identify better treatments for rare cancers. She posted yesterday to Facebook about a 19-year-old metastatic cancer patient of hers whose parents have both passed away who is staying inpatient at Evelyn’s House, a hospice affiliated with BJC.
It’s 9:30 p.m. on election night. Constituents of Alderman Jack Coatar meander around tables and chat amiably as they sip beer and wine at Molly’s in Soulard. Less than five miles away in the Grove, a throng of sweaty Megan Green supporters pump their fists to DJ Khaled’s “All I Do Is Win” as the music blares at HandleBar.
In his victory speech last night, the now Senator-elect Eric Schmitt toggled between two personas: one of a gracious victor surrounded by family and friends; the other of a pugilist who would arrive in Washington, D.C., in January ready to do battle with the Biden administration. After being introduced by his cousin as Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down" played, Schmitt took the podium and said that his win was "a message to Joe Biden that enough is enough. We want our country back."
This story was commissioned by the River City Journalism Fund as the second chapter in its series Shadow of Death, which considers St. Louis County’s use of the death penalty. On the night of the 2018 Democratic primary election, St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch, a 28-year veteran of the job, held what he expected to be his victory party at the Village Bar in Des Peres.
On August 3, 1810, Peter Johnson became the first person to be executed by the state of Missouri. By the time the U.S. Supreme Court found the death penalty unconstitutional in 1972, Missouri had already executed 285 people — most by hanging.
Legalized recreational cannabis found favor with the majority of Missouri voters today. Amendment 3, the initiative legalizing recreational use of marijuana, won 53% of the vote in Tuesday's midterm. The measure fell behind early in the night, but continued to gain steadily as election returns were tallied.
Republican challenger Mark Mantovani has conceded the St. Louis County executive race to incumbent Sam Page. With preliminary results in and 209 of 239 precincts reporting, the St. Louis County election board is reporting Page has a four point lead. The county executive race has been bizarre from the start.
The closest race in the city’s midterm election is over — for now. Megan Green appears to have won the Board of Alderman top job, capturing over 54 percent of votes with 88.1 percent of precincts reporting in the city, according to preliminary results from the City of St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners. A little after 10 p.m., Green declared victory.
Incumbent Ann Wagner (R-Ballwin) has declared victory in the fight for Missouri's Second Congressional District against challenger Trish Gunby (D-Ballwin). The race has not been called and unofficial results show only 102 out of 598 precincts reporting, but Wagner already has a commanding lead with 55 percent of the vote to Gunby's 42 percent. Wagner has been the district’s congresswoman since 2013.
Update: With all precincts fully reporting, preliminary results show that Jeff Farnan has won more than 75 percent of votes. Social media sensation Jess Piper’s bid for state representative is officially over. With 22 of 42 precincts reporting, according to preliminary results from the Secretary of State’s Office, Republican Jeff Farnan has captured more than 78 percent of votes and appears to have won Missouri House District 1.
Well, Missouri is anything but unpredictable, dear readers: The goblin — cough — person with an “R” next to their name has won the U.S. Senate race. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has apparently beaten Trudy Busch Valentine, with the AP calling the race around 9:12 p.m. after very preliminary results showed Schmitt up 62 to 35 percent. But despite the vomit-inducing reactions you may be feeling right now, you might want to stop and consider one important question: What will our local school districts do with the money they no longer have to spend on lawyers?
For once, the pollsters had it right: Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has beaten Democrat Trudy Busch Valentine to claim a seat as the state's junior senator. Preliminary results show Schmitt up by 62 to 35 percent, with roughly 30 percent of the state reporting.
The fan who caught Albert Pujols' 700th home run ball at Dodgers stadium on September 23 got to cash in on a big payday last week. Dodgers fan Marlowe Leal sold his lucky catch at auction, avoiding the pitfalls of other fans by getting his ball authenticated by Major League Baseball before leaving the stadium. Then he worked with Goldin Auctions to sell the ball, which went up for auction on October 25 for $25,000.
St. Louis is about to get a double shot of tall, dark and handsome — book nerd edition. On April 13, our very own Jon Hamm will be interviewing Neil Gaiman when he stops by town to accept the 2023 St. Louis Literary Award, an honor bestowed annually by the Saint Louis University Library Associates. It's set to be a match for the ages.
The majority of statewide elections in Missouri will go uncontested by a major political party this Tuesday. Nearly 57 percent of state legislative races won't have both a Democrat and Republican competing, according to data from Ballotpedia. About 16 percent of those races have just a Democratic candidate, while 41 percent have just a Republican.
Shout-out to all of you early birds who hit up your polling place and got your vote on before work today. You’re the backbone of society. For the rest of us, though, we might need a little more time to get to the polls.
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