Onder takes Republican nomination in Third Congressional District
ST. CHARLES, Mo. (KMIZ)
Dr. Bob Onder defeated a Mid-Missouri politician to take the Republican nomination for the Third Congressional District on Tuesday.
The Onder campaign made a final push on Tuesday to try and secure the nomination. The Associated Press called the win for Onder at about 10 p.m., three hours after polls closed. Onder thanked former Donald Trump during his victory speech, saying that he was one of the few candidates across Missouri who received an exclusive endorsement from the former president.
"I've been with President Trump since 2016. I was a delegate to the convention in 2016 and then an alternate in 2020," Onder told ABC 17. "I went up for President Trump for Iowa as a surrogate during the caucuses just this January. So I think it's just a recognition, first of, you know what what that I've always been on that Trump team. But also I think President Trump's team looked at my record, comparing me to the field and felt that I would be the one to help President Trump in January, turn this country around and make our country great again."
The race became wide open in January after Rep. Blaine Luetkeymer announced he would be retiring from the U.S House. The district, which touches part of southern Columbia, the state capital and portions of St. Charles County has leaned heavily red after Luetkeymeyer took office in 2013.
Onder’s biggest competition in the primary was Boone County Republican Kurt Schaefer of Columbia. The latest numbers from Polling site 538 showed Onder’s voter support at 34%, which gave him a commanding 20-point lead over Schaefer at 14%. Onder, a St. Charles County physician, has earned a reputation as a staunch conservative in the statehouse, known for his opposition to abortion and his culture war battles.
Onder called it a tight race but credited some of his former campaign experience with the victory.
"This was one of the most competitive congressional races in the country. Early on, and as my opponents strong areas came in, I'm looking at this deficit. I'm running, can we make this up? But in the areas where people knew me the best in Jefferson County, Saint Charles County came in overwhelmingly on our side. We won Saint Charles in Jefferson, something like 62 to 22%," Onder explained.
The primary marks the sixth campaign he has run. Onder served one term in the Missouri House from 2007-2008 before leaving the state legislature to make a run for the U.S. House in Missouri's Ninth District, a race he lost to Luetkemeyer. The Ninth district transformed into the Third District after the state was reduced to eight districts in 2010.
He then ran for the Missouri Senate Second District in 2014, a race he won after defeating Chuck Gatchenberger and Vicki Schneider in the Republican primary. That victory earned him the seat after no Democrats challenged him. He was reelected for a second term in 2018. He initially wanted to parlay that into a run for lieutenant governor in 2024, before withdrawing from the race to announce his candidacy for Missouri's Third Congressional district instead.
"Ultimately all politics is local as it was once said, I've stayed engaged in political life, whether it be myself as the candidate, but helping good school board people, helping good county council people or city council people," Onder said. "That that that base of support, those people who knew me in the state, Charles County and in the region that really came in came in very useful.
Onder has leaned heavily on his endorsement from former president Donald Trump, something he has peppered all over television ads and his campaign website. From January to July his committee, Onder for Congress, had $1,155,303.03 in total receipts. The committee received campaign $454,304.03 in campaign contributions.
He told ABC 17 News in a recent interview that his biggest priorities revolve around border security and illegal immigration. He called the current situation a "crisis".
"That border bill [bi-partisan bill Trump ordered the Republican GOP to block] was horrific. One one Republican, maybe two, supported that bill, but it would have permanently legalized 5000 illegal aliens coming into our southern border. Even then, the president could suspend that cutoff at 5000. So that was a horrible, horrible bill. I think what we need to do is restore the common sense border policies under President Trump," Onder said.
Onder was at the First Baptist Church in Lake Saint Louis on Tuesday morning, a polling location he claims he has worked at for the last 22 years. Onder then traveled to The Family Arena in St. Charles, to visit with voters.
