Mayor Jones, Spencer to face off April 8th

A crowd gathered at Mayor Tishaura Jones’ election night watch party on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, seemed unusually quiet.

The event was held at Laborer’s Local 42 in midtown St. Louis, and unlike election night parties where guests nervously mingle with food or drinks in hand, this group sat demurely at long white tables.

They watched a huge TV screen that displayed results indicating Jones was destined to finish second of four candidates – far behind leading vote-getter 8th Ward Alderwoman Cara Spencer.

The mood changed dramatically a little before 10 p.m. when Jones took the stage to raucous hoots and hollers from the crowd.

While incumbent Comptroller Darlene Green, who has held the office for 30 years, finished second to challenger Donna Baringer in the municipal primary, the duo will face again on April 8 and Green is only slightly behind in votes.

“We have come too far to stop halfway, and our communities are tired of seeing investment in half measures, and politicians who only care when it’s election season,” Jones said.

“St. Louis is and always will be my home, and I will never stop fighting to make sure that we continue to grow and thrive.”

Spencer tallied more than twice as many votes as Jones, although voters could choose more than one candidate in the “ranked preference” election.

With just over a month until the April 8^th general election, Spencer had won 68% of voter support compared to Jones’ 33%. The two other candidates, Recorder of Deeds Michael Butler and retired Republican businessperson Andrew Jones received 25% and 14% of the votes respectively, which means both are out of the race.

Election day turnout, like the rainy weather, was abysmal.

According to the St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners, just 34,913 of 196,340 registered voters cast a ballot in the election. The 17.78% turnout is less than 1 in 6 registered voters (5.62.)

The turnout and vote totals for the vanquished candidates give hope to the Mayor Jones campaign.

A jubilant Spencer told supporters at The Post building “I could not imagine such an enormous margin without such an incredible team.”

While she consistently peppered attacks on the city’s snow and trash removal in January, Spencer said, “this mayoral election is about so much more than potholes and trash – but those are reminders we can do better.

“I would also say that we’re not better off than we were four years ago in many, many very visible ways, and residents know that.”

For Jones to overcome Spencer’s momentum, she will likely need a larger turnout of voters on April 8. She will also need to convince Butler and Bell’s supporters to vote for her.

Butler said Tuesday night he would now be supporting Mayor Jones.

“I think that St. Louis still has a good future ahead of it,”

“I think we affected the campaign greatly. Our messaging resonated throughout the campaign, and I see a lot of changes at City Hall and [with] other candidates that took on our campaign’s message.”

Jones and Spencer competed in the 2021 mayoral election with Jones receiving 25,388 and Spencer winning 20,659 of the votes.

Throughout her campaign, Jones stressed the unprecedented millions her administration has invested in street safety infrastructure, economic empowerment, housing development and beautification programs; and the dramatically decreased homicide and youth-involved shooting rates.

Spencer seems to have struck a chord with voters by claiming Jones had torn down homeless encampments, failed to adequately respond to deaths at the City Justice Center and failed to deliver basic city services such as trash pickup, pothole fillings and snow and ice clearings.

“I don’t think all hope is lost,” Jones ally Aldermanic President Megan Green told reporters. She noted that voter turnout was much lower than it was in the 2021 general election and added that a good portion of Butler voters will merge under Jones in the upcoming general election. In February, Jones and Butler had endorsed each other as the second choice for their supporters.

Surrounded by reporters, Jones answered how she plans to defeat her well-funded, vote-leading opponent, Spencer.

“Well, we must show people who Cara really is and remind them of what I inherited when I became mayor and what I’ve been trying to fix for the last four years. You have to set a foundation for growth, and you can’t do that by changing your leaders every four years,” Jones said.

On stage, Jones confidently reiterated that theme:

“It’s not over by a long shot. We’ve got another 35 days.”

Comptroller’s race

While incumbent Comptroller Darlene Green, who has held the office for 30 years, finished second to challenger Donna Baringer in the municipal primary, the duo will face again on April 8 and Green is only slightly behind in votes.

Baringer garnered 16,664 votes and Green received 16,117.

Celeste Metcalf won 8,541 votes, and the comptroller’s race could come down to who can snare most of her supporters.

“I’m grateful for all the voters who voted for me and who came out for me in the rain,” Green said in a statement.

“We’ve got great momentum going forward into the general.”

Baringer told St. Louis Public Radio on Tuesday, “I was able to get the message across of the importance of the comptroller’s office, and that it’s time for change.”

Sylvester Brown Jr. is the Deaconess Foundation Community Advocacy Fellow.