Between 30 and 40 people attended the KTRS-AM/St. Louis Beacon-sponsored GOP Senatorial debate Tuesday. Congressman Todd Akin and former Missouri State Treasurer Sarah Steelman participated in the event. Both politicos hope to unseat Sen. Claire McCaskill as Missouri’s senator. Absent from the event was John Brunner, a third candidate vying for the Republican nomination. Organizers invited Brunner to participate in the event, but he declined. They kept a space for him in case he decided to show. The debate was cordial for the most part—with a single moment of accusations between the two …

The Iowa caucuses have flooded headlines for the past week, but Missourians will have another race to consider before the election season really heats up. Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) and former Missouri treasurer Sarah Steelman are each vying for the GOP nomination to challenge Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill to represent Missouri in the U.S. Senate. Maryland Heights-based KTRS-AM and the St. Louis Beacon are hosting a debate Tuesday at the Missouri Athletic Club West in Town and Country. Patch will be on the scene live-blogging the event, so check back at 9 a.m. Tuesday for an up-to-the-minute …

Three candidates filed to run for open seats on the St. Charles Community College (SCC) Board of Trustees on the first day of election filing Tuesday. Candidate filing began Dec. 13 and continues until Jan. 17.  SCC has two six-year terms and one two-year term up for election on the April 2012 ballot. Both William R. Pundmann and Jean Ehlmann's terms end in April.  William Lohmar, who was appointed to the SCC Board of Trustees in January 2011, replaced his son, Timothy Lohmar, who was elected as a judge in Missouri’s 11th Judicial Circuit. Lohmar’s appointment ends in April 2012, and a …

Candidates began to trickle in for school board seats up for election on April 3, 2012 in St. Charles County’s five public school districts. Candidate filing opened Dec. 13 and will close on Jan. 17. Voters will elect school board members to serve three-year terms – with the exception of perhaps one school district. Most of the filing activity on the first day of filing occurred in the Wentzville School District. Five candidates, including two incumbents, had filed Tuesday for two open seats. The candidates filing Tuesday were incumbents Sheryl Cox and David Hurst along with candidates …

Filings for St. Charles County elections opens Feb. 28, with three county council positions and four circuit court judges will be on the August 2012 primary and November 2012 ballots. Candidate packets will be available Jan. 2. The even numbered council seats — districts 2, 4 and 6 are up for election in 2012. Council members Joe Brazil, R-District 2, of Defiance; Paul Wynn, R-District 4, of O’Fallon, and Jerry Daugherty, D-District 6, of Portage des Sioux are up for re-election. Brazil has said he would seek re-election. Lake Saint Louis Ward 3 Alderman John Pellerito said he likely will …

Nine candidates filed to run for Wentzville municipal office Tuesday, the opening day of the April 2012 filing period. The city of Wentzville held a lottery at 5 p.m. for the top spot on the ballot. All other candidates who file will be added on the end of the list. Incumbent Mayor Paul Lambi told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch this morning that he would not be seeking reelection in 2012. Lambi has held the mayoral post since 2004. Whomever wins election to the mayoral post in April will serve a four-year term. Wentzville voters approved extending the mayor's term from two to four years on the …

Filing for municipal office in Wentzville begins tomorrow. Filing will remain open until Tuesday, Jan. 17. Wentzville City Hall is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and will be closed on Monday, Dec. 26 for Christmas and Monday, Jan. 2, for the New Year's holiday. The city will hold its municipal election Tuesday, April 3, 2012 One seat in each of the city's three wards is up for reelection. Aldermen serve two-year terms. The open seats and their current representative are: Ward 1 — currently held by Leon Tow; Ward 2 — currently held by Vann Sample; and Ward 3 — currently held by Rick Stokes. …

Ann Wagner and Ed Martin, Republican candidates for the U.S. Representative 2nd District, will debate at 6 p.m. Monday at Culpepper's in O'Fallon. The debate will be blogged live by Patch Editor Joe Scott and Brian Flinchpaugh. The Lewis and Clark Pachyderms of Western St. Charles County host the event. Those wishing to read the live Patch blog can log on to Wentzville Patch at 6 p.m. and the event should start shortly afterwards. There will be opportunity for readers to comment live. The commentators will post any appropriate comments. Previous debates have focused on health care, the …

Michael Carter, the former municipal judge for the City of Wentzville, announced plans Thursday to run for Missouri's lieutenant governor in 2012. Carter made the announcement after Speaker of the House Steve Tilley said he was withdrawing from the race. Carter will be running in the Republican primary. He ran for the office in 2008 as a Democrat, an article in the Suburban Journals stated. In April 2011 muncipal elections, Carter filed to run for municipal judge in both Wentzville and St. Peters. After a ruling was made that one candidate could not run for both posts, Carter dropped his bid …

The Wentzville Board of Aldermen approved the filing dates for the April 2012 municipal election. The board approved the dates at its meeting Wednesday. The municipal election will be held Tuesday, April 3, 2012. The polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on election day. Three Board of Aldermen seats and the mayor's office will be up for election. The offices up for election are currently held by: Leon Tow, Ward 1 Vann Sample, Ward 2 Rick Stokes, Ward 3 Mayor Paul Lambi. Tow has already announced his plans to file for the mayor's position. Interested candidates may file any time between …

Ten months before next August's primary, voters had their first chance over the weekend to see the two candidates vying for the Republican nomination to represent Missouri's newly redrawn second congressional district in Congress stand side by side and debate the issues. Ed Martin and Ann Wagner, who were both in the audience on the May day in Creve Coeur when Todd Akin announced he would run for the Senate instead of another term in the House, were back together for the debate at the Drury Plaza in Chesterfield Saturday afternoon. Click here to read our live blog from the debate While there …

State Sen. Scott Rupp, R-Wentzville, announced Monday that he was in the running for Missouri Secretary of State in 2012. The seat is currently held by Democrat Robin Carnahan. Rupp made the announcement at 5 p.m. on a local radio program and via his Facebook page. Rupp is prohibited by term limits from running for another term in the state senate. He was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 2003 and the Senate in 2006. According to his campaign website, Rupp moved to Missouri at age 10 and graduated from Duchesne High School and the University of Missouri.

The St. Charles Young Republicans billed the Thursday event as a candidate forum featuring Republicans Ann Wagner and Ed Martin. Both Wagner and Martin are running for Missouri's 2nd District congressional seat. Wentzville is represented in the 2nd District. Christian Morgan, a spokesman for Wagner’s campaign, said his staff only learned of the invitation last week. By then it was too late to rework Wagner's schedule, he said. Morgan added Martin's office got a Facebook notification about the event at Culpeppers in O'Fallon, but Wagner's office had not subscribed to the Facebook feed. However…

U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan—whose district is being swallowed up as a part of redistricting—said he will be running for reelection in 2012. However, he said he would be waiting for court review of the new district lines before announcing which race he plans to jump into. “I do plan to be a candidate for Congress next year, plan to run for reelection,” the Missouri Democrat told reporters before speaking at an event at the Affton White-Rodgers Community Center. With Missouri losing a congressional seat following the 2010 census, new Republican-drawn congressional lines are absorbing Carnahan’s 3rd…

Tuesday, Republican Ed Martin announced what could be a key endorsement in his bid to win a seat in Congress. His campaign issued a statement stating Phyllis Schlafly, a longtime, influential member of the conservative wing of the Republican Party, is backing him in the race for Todd Akin's 2nd district House seat. Wentzville is represented in the 2nd district. Akin announced in May that he would be running for the U.S. Senate in 2012. In the statement released by the Martin campaign, Schlafly said in part, "Whether fighting for lower taxes for families and businesses, taking on ACORN and …

In a plea to raise campaign funds, U.S. Senate candidate Sarah Steelman made a simple mistake. Unfortunately for the former state treasurer, it was a math error. Steelman, who is angling to face Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill, posted the letter on her website June 30 in an effort to raise money before the end of the quarter. Was it her mistake? A mistake by a staff member? Just a typo? Here's the excerpt from the letter: "I need your help TODAY to defeat McCaskill! I need 1000 friends to contribute $100 each to raise $10,000 by midnight tonight." As it turns out, Steelman's acting campaign …

Relying on many of the same themes he used when he declared his candidacy for the U.S. Senate last month in Creve Coeur, U.S. Rep. Todd Akin (R-Wildwood) spoke Thursday at an event sponsored by Citizens Alliance for Missouri Patriots in South St. Louis County.Akin House territory covers the Wentzville area. Akin and former State Treasurer Sarah Steelman are the two declared GOP candidates for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat Claire McCaskill. Akin made no reference to the controversy which has simmered around him since his recent remarks in a radio interview. In the interview with the …

On May 17, Republican Representative Todd Akin announced his bid for the U.S. Senate to unseat Democrat Claire McCaskill in 2012. Akin represents Wentzville and is currently serving his sixth term as a U.S. Congressman representing the 2nd district. Now Akin is reportedly moving from Town and Country to Wildwood and has changed his voter registration to reflect his change in residence. "He changed his voter registration at the end of May," said Akin's Press Secretary Steve Taylor. "He's in the process of changing the automobile registration and all other things that apply. A  lot of things …

After U.S. Rep. Todd Akin, announced Tuesday that he would run against Sen. Claire McCaskill in the 2012 election, a slate of Republicans lined up to represent the newly reformed 2nd District, which includes the city of Wentzville. Ann Wagner, former chair of the Missouri Republican Party, state Sen. Jane Cunningham, R-Chesterfield, and Ed Martin have all said they will run for Akin’s vacated seat in the House. "There are some really, really competent people who are taking a look at that race," Akin said as he announced his Senate candidacy in Creve Coeur. Two of the contenders, Wagner and …

Echoing themes of limited government, living within means, and calling himself "a consistent conservative," U.S. Representative Todd Akin (R-Town and Country) entered what is now a Republican party primary field to unseat Democrat Claire McCaskill in 2012. “Missouri has a choice of two futures. And I’m determined to make sure that Missouri voters have an opportunity to exercise that choice. For that reason, I will be running for the U.S. Senate in the 2012 election,” Rep. Akin, who has served the 2nd Congressional district for 11 years, told supporters at the Drury Inn and Suites in Creve …