St. Louis Democrat launches campaign for Senate seat with focus on climate change
Missouri has steadily moved to the right in recent elections, but St. Louis Democrat Spencer Toder is running on an unabashedly progressive platform as he becomes the latest candidate to seek retiring Republican Sen. Roy Blunt’s seat in 2022.
Toder, a realtor and entrepreneur, filed paperwork to form a campaign committee last month, but Tuesday marks the official launch of his campaign. During a 30-minute interview, Toder made multiple references to the world being “on fire” and called for aggressive action to combat climate change, which he called an existential threat.
“I don’t care what we want to call it,” Toder said when asked if this meant he supported the “Green New Deal” proposal.
“I believe in carbon capture technology. I believe in clean air and water… I don’t want to see ice caps melting. I don’t want to see animals going extinct. I don’t want to see humanity going extinct.”
Toder makes his living primarily through real estate, rehabbing and selling homes. He is also a co-founder of a medical start-up, Atrial Innovations, which is developing devices for cardiovascular treatment.
If elected Toder, who turns 36 this month, would be the youngest senator besides Georgia Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff, the 34-year-old freshman whose victory in the January runoff gave Democrats control of the Senate.
Toder, who graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with an MBA in 2009 at the height of the recession, said he’s hopeful that more millennials will bring their economic perspective to the Senate.
“I think that every American has the right to health care as a human right. Full stop. It should not be dependent on wealth. It should not be dependent on career path… I know too many people with medical debt who don’t deserve that,” Toder said.
Asked about how he thought his agenda would play in rural Missouri, Toder said he often spends weekends on his family’s farm in Leslie, where he talks about the issues with Republican neighbors.
“I know they all voted for Donald Trump and they know I voted for Joe Biden. And we care about the same stuff. We need to stop looking down noses at people,” he said.
Toder slammed Missouri’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. His grandmother died from the virus in during the same week she was scheduled to receive her first dose of vaccine.
“I was challenged to combat the anger I was feeling at the same time I was battling my grief,” said Toder. He blamed government malpractice for the political polarization around masks and for inequitable distribution of the vaccine along geographic lines.
Toder was highly critical of Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley’s lead role in the failed effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election and his status as the only senator to vote against a bill to curb hate crimes against the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
“It’s disgraceful. I have friends across the country who call me and say I can’t believe you live in a state where that is your representation,” Toder said.
Toder joins a Democratic field that already includes former state Sen. Scott Sifton and Marine veteran Lucas Kunce, both who raised six figures during the first quarter of 2021.
Two other candidates, Kansas City activist Timothy Shepard and Air Force veteran Jewel Kelly, are also running grassroots campaigns for the nomination.
On the Republican side, former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt are both seeking the seat, but several members of the congressional delegation have also hinted at runs.
Toder’s campaign team includes Craig Phelps, who worked on Democratic Rep. Cori Bush’s successful 2020 campaign, which ousted long-time Democratic incumbent William Lacy Clay after running on a platform of police reform.
Toder confirmed he supports shifting funding from the police for other services. But he was careful to avoid using the phrase “defund the police,” which has been popularized by Bush and other activists but also been blamed by moderate Democrats for losses in the suburbs.
“I’m not for defunding the police. I am for refunding communities and some of that money will have to come from reallocating funds from our police departments.”
This story was originally published May 4, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
