Democrat Jake Zimmerman has been elected St. Louis County executive, winning 65.1% of the vote Tuesday against Republican Dennis Hancock, who received 32.9%, and Green Party candidate J.D. McFarland, who received 2.1%, according to unofficial results.
Zimmerman will succeed County Executive Sam Page, who decided not to seek reelection and whose term ends in January 2027.
Zimmerman has served as St. Louis County assessor since 2011, following four years in the Missouri House of Representatives. Known for describing himself as “reassuringly nerdy,” Zimmerman has presented himself as a policy-focused problem solver.
During his victory speech, Zimmerman acknowledged past tensions among county officials and pledged to work across party lines.
“Make no mistake, friends: there is work to be done. We all know that our elected officials have not always gotten along with one another,” Zimmerman said. “And so, I say to you and I pledge to you, as I have to each and every member of the county council who has been here this evening, that, Democrat or Republican, we’re all going to work together.”
St. Louis County Councilwoman Shalonda Webb, who represents the 4th District, told KSDK she looks forward to working with Zimmerman and hopes his leadership will bring greater transparency and cooperation to county government.
“We’re so excited for St. Louis County to now have a county executive who can work with this council, and this council looks forward to working with Jake,” Webb said.
Webb recalled Zimmerman’s willingness to visit her community during his time as assessor and said she was hopeful he would bring that same approach to his new role as county executive.
Among the challenges facing Zimmerman is a projected $99.3 million county budget deficit. Webb identified the budget as one of the major issues the council hopes to address alongside the incoming executive.
“Bring the nerd, Jake. We need the nerd right about now because we’ve got some hard problems to address,” Webb said. “We’re going to need some real thoughtful, forward-thinking leaders to help us achieve some of these things.”