Former state Sen. Bob Onder announced Friday that he would drop his bid for lieutenant governor to instead run for the House seat held by retiring Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, the man who beat him in the 2008 Republican primary for Missouri's now-defunct 9th Congressional District. Onder joins state Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman in the Aug. 6 GOP primary for the safely red 3rd District.
Onder was a state representative 16 years ago when he sought to replace Rep. Kenny Hulshof, who gave up the 9th to wage a disastrous bid for governor. Onder and Luetkemeyer, who was the state's tourism director, soon emerged as the frontrunners in the five-person field. Onder's backers at the anti-tax Club for Growth aired commercials attacking his main rival, but Luetkemeyer's support from the influential Missouri Right to Life helped him win the nomination 40-29.
That setback was not the end of Onder's political career, though, as he returned to the state legislature after winning a state Senate race in 2014. In the Capitol, he joined the legislature's extremist Conservative Caucus, which dissolved two years ago but has since been succeeded by a group calling itself the Freedom Caucus (one of many that have recently sprung up at the state level). As a lawmaker, Onder made a name for himself as an anti-abortion zealot, a distinction he shares with Coleman.
After getting termed out last cycle, Onder briefly ran for St. Louis County executive before setting his sights on running for lieutenant governor in 2024. The candidate, who also works as a physician, self-funded $500,000 for that now-abandoned effort.
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Onder was a state representative 16 years ago when he sought to replace Rep. Kenny Hulshof, who gave up the 9th to wage a disastrous bid for governor. Onder and Luetkemeyer, who was the state's tourism director, soon emerged as the frontrunners in the five-person field. Onder's backers at the anti-tax Club for Growth aired commercials attacking his main rival, but Luetkemeyer's support from the influential Missouri Right to Life helped him win the nomination 40-29.
That setback was not the end of Onder's political career, though, as he returned to the state legislature after winning a state Senate race in 2014. In the Capitol, he joined the legislature's extremist Conservative Caucus, which dissolved two years ago but has since been succeeded by a group calling itself the Freedom Caucus (one of many that have recently sprung up at the state level). As a lawmaker, Onder made a name for himself as an anti-abortion zealot, a distinction he shares with Coleman.
After getting termed out last cycle, Onder briefly ran for St. Louis County executive before setting his sights on running for lieutenant governor in 2024. The candidate, who also works as a physician, self-funded $500,000 for that now-abandoned effort.
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