A Republican member of the St. Louis County Council who often found himself at odds with others in the GOP will not return next year.
Michael Archer, an attorney from Oakville, beat incumbent Ernie Trakas on Tuesday 52% to 46% in final unofficial results for the Republican primary for the 6th District.
In the other race featuring an incumbent, Shalonda Webb, the council’s chairwoman, beat former county council member and state Rep. Rochelle Walton Gray 67% to 33%.
In an extremely close race for the vacant 2nd District seat, former state Rep. Gretchen Bangert beat former Creve Coeur councilwoman Nicole Greer by 110 votes.
6th District
Archer called the night “surreal” and exhausting.
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“A lot of people worked really hard to help me, and I’m very thankful for that. I sure didn’t do this all by myself,” he said.
Archer held fundraising and endorsement advantages over Trakas, but he said that ultimately, it was his promise to be accessible that propelled him to victory.
“So many times on the campaign trail I would hear that, ‘Oh, I have tried to call Ernie Trakas three months now,’ or 'I have sent him an email and it’s gone unanswered,'” Archer said.
Trakas did not immediately return a phone call for comment. The 2024 race was the first time Trakas had faced an intraparty challenge. He’d previously said he was being challenged in the primary because he refused to be a yes-man for the Republican machine.
Archer will run against Democrat Kevin Schartner, a former member of the Mehlville School Board and an employee of Ameren. A Democrat represented the 6th District in 2016, but it has trended more Republican in recent years.
4th District
The 4th District race between Webb and Walton Gray was essentially a rematch of the 2020 Democratic primary.
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“I’m grateful for the victory, but more importantly, I’m grateful to continue to work on behalf of our community,” Webb said. “There’s so much great potential in north county.”
Gray did not immediately return a phone call from St. Louis Public Radio seeking comment.
The district covers the northern tip of St. Louis County.
Webb will face Republican Rhonda Linders, a former private school admissions counselor from Spanish Lake, and Theo Brown, who is running as a Libertarian. Webb is expected to win handily in November since the district leans heavily Democratic.
2nd District
Bangert said she was ecstatic to be the winner and thrilled to “take St. Louis County in a new direction.
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“The thing we said a lot was getting along with folks and stopping this infighting,” she said. "Let’s work together as a county to make things better for folks overall and for our region.”
Greer said she was proud to have come so close in a race in which she was up against “$57,000 in [political action committee] money.”
The race for the 2nd District is within the recall margin, but Greer said she was not sure if she would make use of the process. To do so under state law, she would have to file a verified petition in St. Louis County circuit court.
The 2nd District covers northwest and central St. Louis County. The seat opened up when Kelli Dunaway decided not to seek reelection. She endorsed Greer, a former Creve Coeur councilwoman.
Dunaway was one of County Executive Sam Page’s staunchest allies on the council. Page reportedly offered Bangert a job if she would drop out of the race — she had the endorsements of some of his rivals on the council. Greer posted on Facebook that Page had also asked her if she thought she could improve county government by working in a staff role, and that while she considered dropping out, she chose to remain in the race. Greer said she was never offered a specific job.
A third Democratic candidate, Lequeshiah Young, received 14% of the vote. Both Bangert and Greer said they were surprised she had that much influence on the race; Young filed on the last day and did not establish a campaign committee.
Bangert will have a Republican challenger, Sudhir Rathod, in November. He works in the automotive industry and previously served on the board of the Parkway School District. The general election is not expected to be close because the district is dominated by Democrats.
Correction: Kevin Schartner works for Ameren. A previous St. Louis Public Radio report listed an incorrect place of employment.
