ST. LOUIS 鈥 Two progressive Democratic women 鈥 City Treasurer Tishaura Jones and Alderman Cara Spencer 鈥 were chosen by voters in Tuesday鈥檚 primary to advance to the final round of this year鈥檚 mayoral race.
Final unofficial returns showed Jones approved by 57% of voters and Spencer by 46%. Trailing were Aldermanic President Lewis Reed and utility executive Andrew Jones, who were endorsed by 39% and 14%, respectively.
The primary was the first carried out under a new procedure called 鈥渁pproval voting,鈥 in which residents could vote for as many of the four candidates they 鈥渁pproved鈥 of 鈥 instead of just one.
Tishaura Jones, in a post-election speech streamed online, thanked her supporters. But she warned that in the coming April 6 general election, 鈥渨e will most certainly be outspent and the powerful special interests will line up鈥 to protect 鈥渢he status quo.鈥
鈥淎nd the City Hall political establishment will pull out all the stops to try to beat us,鈥 said Jones, 48.
Spencer, 42, said the primary results mean that 鈥渢he next mayor of the city of St. Louis will be a true progressive.鈥 She added that the results are a turning point for the city.
鈥淲e have turned our attention to the special interests that have run this city for decades,鈥 Spencer said in a speech, also carried online.
Spencer also thanked her supporters and offered a toast: 鈥淭o the future of St. Louis,鈥 she said. 鈥淚t looks bright. And it looks different.鈥
Congratulations Alderwoman and Treasurer Jones on your hard fought approval and advancement to the April 6 run-off election!
And thank you to the 44,000 (22%) St. Louis voters who made the effort yesterday to make their voices heard!
鈥 Mayor Lyda Krewson (@LydaKrewson)
Congratulations ! The city and the county share one of the longest borders in Missouri. No problem ever stops at that line. And no good solution should have to. Dr. Page joins other regional and state leaders in endorsing Tishaura Jones for Mayor of St Louis. Vote 4/6!
鈥 Sam Page for St. Louis County (@SamFor老澳门六合彩开奖结果County)
Approval voting wasn鈥檛 the only change in electoral procedure Tuesday. The new system, approved by voters in the November election as Proposition D, had candidates running on a nonpartisan basis.
In the past, winners of the Democratic primary usually cruised to victory in the general election over Republican and/or third-party nominees in the heavily Democratic city.
Final returns showed 44,538 people casting 69,607 鈥渁pproval鈥 votes.
It was the third mayoral race loss for Reed, 58, a Democrat whose previous campaigns for the job were in 2017 and 2013.
Reed spokeswoman Mary Goodman said he will continue to work as aldermanic president 鈥渢o make our city better鈥 and to focus on his top priority, public safety.
鈥淗e鈥檚 willing to work with whoever winds up in Room 200,鈥 Goodman said, referring to the mayor鈥檚 City Hall office.
Reed, in answer to a question at a recent debate, had said Tishaura Jones would be his choice in the general election if he failed to make the cut.
The fourth candidate in the primary, Republican Andrew Jones, 60, congratulated Tuesday鈥檚 victors and said while his ideas differ from theirs, 鈥渢he three of us agree that change is needed.鈥
He urged the eventual general-election winner to listen to all relevant opinions on an issue, even if they don鈥檛 align with their personal beliefs.
In addition to the new voting system, the campaign was affected by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, with few large public events and numerous online forums and debates.
Adding some normalcy were the television commercials run in recent weeks by three of the candidates. There also were mailings and some door-to-door campaigning.
A key issue was the city鈥檚 pressing violent crime problem, with all four candidates offering their takes on how to try to reduce it.
Tishaura Jones, the daughter of former Comptroller Virvus Jones, was a state representative before she was elected as treasurer in 2012.
Ever since she narrowly lost the 2017 Democratic mayoral primary to Lyda Krewson, she had been viewed by many in politics as a likely repeat contender this year. Krewson went on to win the general election over Andrew Jones, the GOP nominee that year, and became the city鈥檚 first female mayor.
The dynamics of this year鈥檚 race changed dramatically in November when Krewson announced she wouldn鈥檛 seek a second term. Since then, she has stayed out of the maneuverings to succeed her, not endorsing any of the candidates.
Tishaura Jones and Spencer share views on some key issues. Both have pressed for a quicker closure of the city鈥檚 medium-security prison on Hall Street than has been favored lately by the more moderate Reed.
Spencer and Tishaura Jones also oppose a proposed aerial surveillance system aimed at fighting crime and were against leasing St. Louis Lambert International Airport to private companies.
Much of the friction in the primary campaign was between Spencer and Reed.
A Spencer ad asserted that Reed had led the city in the wrong direction during his two decades in office, citing 鈥渙ut of control鈥 crime and accusing him of cronyism and corruption.
Reed, who is Black, complained that the ad for Spencer, who is white, used 鈥渁 sad old racist trope鈥 of blaming Black leaders for crime. A Reed ad then attacked Spencer鈥檚 commercial as divisive.
Tishaura Jones remained above their fray, trumpeting endorsements from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, and fellow Black elected officials from around the country. One of them, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, went door to door with her Sunday.
She also got an endorsement from St. Louis County Executive Sam Page, who followed up with a $1,000 donation to a committee backing her candidacy.
Reed had backing from 15 fellow aldermen. Among Spencer鈥檚 backers were two familiar city political names, former Mayor Vincent Schoemehl and former Aldermanic President James Shrewsbury.
Committees backing Reed, with strong ties to the business community, led in fundraising, but supporters of Tishaura Jones and Spencer also pulled in substantial amounts. Andrew Jones was far behind.
Meanwhile, Comptroller Darlene Green was unopposed for reelection on Tuesday鈥檚 ballot.
Jacob Barker of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.聽