St. Louis Primary 2018: Bell Beats Bob, Stenger Will Stay

ST. LOUIS, MO — Wesley Bell has won the Democratic primary for St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney, defeating 27-year-incumbent Robert McCulloch in a stunning upset. With no Republican challenger in November, he's almost certain to win that race too.

"People here showed up and showed out," Bell said in his victory speech Tuesday night. "A lot of people contributed to this victory, and I thank you so much.”

Bell will be the first African-American to hold the office and has promised to eliminate cash bail and institute other criminal justice reforms.

"St. Louis County voters recognized the need for smart justice reform in a significantly new way during today’s primary election for prosecuting attorney," the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri said in a statement. "For the first time in nearly a generation, the prosecuting attorney candidates engaged in a county-wide discussion about the high numbers of people in the St. Louis County Jail and the office’s use of cash bail, diversion, and the alternative courts system."

The group said Bell's election would make it clear that the criminal justice system must change.

McCulloch said later at an event that he plans to retire, telling a St. Louis Public Radio reporter that he hopes Bell's victory doesn't equate to an ACLU takeover of the office. McCulloch drew criticism in 2014 when he declined to charge former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson with murder after Wilson fatally shot Michael Brown, a black teenager. McCulloch said he has no regrets over his handling of the case.

Meanwhile, Steve Stenger edged out Mark Mantovani in the race for County Executive by just over 1,000 votes. Officials in St. Louis County reported some problems with voting machines, St. Louis Public Radio reports, forcing them to count ballots the old-fashioned (read: slow) way, by hand. But despite the reported problems and the closeness of the vote, Mantovani has said he won't challenge Stenger's victory.

Maria Chappelle-Nadal defeated three challengers to win her primary for Missouri's 86th District with just over 50 percent of the vote. Chappelle-Nadal, who had been term-limited out of her state Senate seat, made a proposed taxpayer funded development in her district a key campaign issue, saying in an online ad that she has concerns about residents and businesses that may be displaced by the project.

In the state's 4th Senate District, Karla May defeated incumbent Jacob Hummel, and in the 14th District, former Congressional staffer Brian Williams edged out state Rep. Joe Adams and former state Rep. Sharon Pace.

Lisa Clancy won a seat on the County Council in the 5th district, defeating two-term incumbent Pat Dolan. Dolan had often been County Executive Stenger's sole ally on the council. Stenger will now be alone, his power diminished after voters passed ballot measures to delegate more of his responsibilities to council.

"District 5 voted to change County government, to get rid of insider deals, and to move the County in a more progressive direction," Clancy told the St. Louis American. "I look forward to getting to work for my neighbors and constituents."

Michael Butler defeated incumbent Sharon Quigley Carpenter and will likely become the city's next Recorder of Deeds. Butler will be the first millennial to hold citywide office and St. Louis' first African-American Recorder of Deeds.

Those races are in addition to statewide House and Senate primaries and the contentious vote on Proposition A, which will determine if Missouri is to become the country's 28th "right-to-work" state. Find statewide results here.

As of shortly after 6 p.m., more than 150,000 voters had cast their ballots across St. Louis County, according to the county board of elections. That's about a quarter of registered voters.

The 353rd precinct at Barrington Elementary School in Florissant, where more than 40 percent of registered voters have cast their ballots, is still in the lead for voter turnout. Meanwhile, the 358th precinct at Jamestown Bluffs Library has seen just 31 voters (not percent, voters) out of 1,139 registered — less than 3 percent turnout. That's better than the 2 voters who had showed up by 1 p.m., but it's still the lowest in the county.

Maybe the rain has something to do with it. Several storms have rolled through the St. Louis region today and rain has been heavy at times. A 2007 study published in the Journal of Politics found that rain can depress voter turnout by as much as 1 percent per inch.

The researchers also found that rain tends to boost Republicans' share of the vote (umbrella inequality, maybe?) and may have been a significant factor in the presidential elections of 1960 and 2000.

More seriously, some voters reported they were given the wrong ballots and poll workers refused to correct the mistake. The Advancement Project, a racial justice nonprofit, and the ACLU have written a letter to the St. Louis County Board of Elections demanding the alleged election interference be addressed immediately.

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