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.
In Missouri, the Freedom Caucus has sparked a hot-burning feud with GOP leaders in the state Senate, who recently removed several members as committee chairs in retaliation for the caucus' efforts to obstruct the chamber’s work. The Missouri Independent’s Rudi Keller reported last month that the previous session of the legislature “nearly set a record for futility,” with lawmakers passing the second-fewest bills in the last three decades. The only smaller number came in 2020, when COVID forced an abbreviated session.
Similar battles have played out in other states, such as South Carolina, where the local Freedom Caucus has erupted in fury over what it says is a plan by establishment Republicans to clamp down on the party’s far-right flank. One of the founders of the South Carolina branch of the caucus, state Rep. Stewart Jones, could potentially join Onder in Washington, since he recently launched a bid for the state’s newly open 3rd Congressional District.
Editor’s note: This piece has been updated to include further details on state-level Freedom Caucuses and their members.
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