St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore announced Wednesday he’s running for a full, four-year term in 2024.
“Running for public office is not something that has ever been on my career to-do list,” Gore said. “And that hasn't changed. But what has changed is the unique opportunity to serve alongside the men and women who have come back to the circuit attorney's office to join me to do the work that's necessary to have a positive impact on the community that I love. And to create a greater level of public safety for the entire region.”
Gov. Mike Parson appointed Gore to serve out the rest of the term of Kim Gardner, who resigned earlier this year amid a growing uproar over her management of the office and a move by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey to remove her.
Since taking the job, Gore has had the task of trying to hire more staff and wade through a large backlog of cases awaiting warrants and pending homicide prosecutions.
On Tuesday, Gore was asked during a press conference about his six months in office whether he’d run for a full term next year. He said, “The final part of my decision process is just trying to make the decision as to whether or not I want to be a political candidate.”
When asked why he didn’t say Tuesday that he was running, Gore responded: “Yesterday I was still considering it and putting the things in place to be able to go forward. And today, I'm announcing that I am going forward.”
“I really didn't begin seriously doing the work and the due diligence necessary to determine whether or not this was something I wanted to pursue until this month,” Gore said. “And that work has intensified in recent days. And I was building towards making a decision.”
Gore said he’s been a “lifelong Democrat” and hopes voters in the August 2024 Democratic primary appreciate the work he’s done so far to stabilize the office.
“I think I've been in the public eye since I was appointed,” Gore said. “I never had a desire to seek public office. And part of that is because we all see how things play out in politics. And I don't think that's an environment that anybody invites or runs into. However, I've never shirked away from an opportunity to serve, an opportunity to have an impact. And even politics won't scare me away from that.”
Gore will have at least one opponent in the Democratic primary. David Mueller, a defense attorney, announced his circuit attorney bid while Gardner was still in office.
On Wednesday, he said his message to Democratic voters will be that he is “the leader that can deliver a circuit attorney's office that can perform at the high level that is necessary to address the violent crime problem plaguing our community.”
The city is overwhelmingly Democratic, so whoever wins the primary will be heavily favored in the general election.
