(St. Louis Public Radio) – Area congressional incumbents have bested their opponents, according to the Associated Press.
Democratic incumbent Lacy Clay, University City, defeated Republican Steve Bailey to keep his long-held seat in Missouri’s 1st Congressional District.
Clay was heavily favored to win after defeating state Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal and St. Louis School Board member Bill Haas in August.
The 1st Congressional District encompasses St. Louis and parts of St. Louis County. Lacy Clay and his father, Bill Clay, have represented the 1st District since 1969, and in the process have cultivated one of the state’s most significant political organizations.
Bailey, Lacy Clay’s his opponent, in March won the GOP primary against fellow Republican Paul Berry III to face an uphill battle to unseat Clay, because the 1st District is solidly Democratic. While Bailey has never held elected office, he’s run several times for Congress.
In the 2nd Congressional District Republican Ann Wagner, Ballwin, will keep her seat in Missouri’s after beating out Democrat Bill Otto.
Before the Ballwin resident was elected to Congress in 2012, she served as the head of the Missouri Republican Party, co-chair of the Republican National Committee and ambassador to Luxembourg under President George W. Bush. She easily won re-election in 2014 in the district that tilts toward Republicans.
Since taking office in early 2013, Wagner quickly has made her mark. She has a leadership position as the freshman representative to GOP leadership in the House.
In Illinois, U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, has won election to a second term representing the 12th congressional district. The 55-year-old former state legislator sited his experience during his campaign and said his main goal was to cut regulations, especially on coal mines. He is adamantly opposed to the Affordable Care Act, wanting to start a slow and steady replacement that includes health care coverage for people with pre-existing conditions.
Bost defeated Democrat C.J. Baricevic, a lawyer, and Green Party candidate Paula Bradshaw, a nurse.
Republished with permission of St. Louis Public Radio: http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/incumbents-prevail-area-congressional-races
