Democrats retain party leadership in Missouri following disappointing election 

Missouri Democratic Party Chairman Russ Carnahan (photo courtesy of Missouri Democratic Party).

Missouri Democrats will keep three of the party’s four top leaders in place for the next two years despite an election result where the party lost every statewide race and failed to make gains in the General Assembly.

Former U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan of St. Louis will stay on as party chair, with Yvonne Reeves-Chong of Waynesville as vice chair and Glenda Bainbridge of Odessa as treasurer. Joshua Dunne of Jefferson City was elected committee secretary.

The selections were made Saturday at a meeting of the Democratic State Committee, completing the party reorganization that began with election of local committee members in August. The Missouri Republican State Committee will meet in January to select GOP leadership for the coming two years. 

Statewide election results show the difficulties the party faces in future contests. The party’s best-performing candidate was U.S. Senate nominee Lucas Kunce, who received 41.8% of the vote. 

In legislative elections, Democrats started the year hoping to break the two-thirds supermajority Republicans have held in both chambers of the legislature since 2012. The party had gained seats in the 163-member Missouri House in each of the five most recent elections.

Instead, the party made no gains in either chamber, ending the election with 52 seats in the Missouri House and 10 of 34 seats in the state Senate.

In a statement, Carnahan downplayed the results, focusing on efforts to rebuild the party. The party held its seats despite losses elsewhere and helped pass ballot measures to restore abortion rights and increase the minimum wage, the statement noted.

“This year, Missouri Democrats opened over 20 offices across the state, recruited more candidates than we have since 2008, reorganized at least seven county committees that had not been organized in years past, and for the first time in several cycles, every seat on the state committee has been filled,” Carnahan said. “This cycle was just the beginning, and we still have a lot to do to rebuild a strong Democratic Party infrastructure.”

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