Cara Spencer

Cara Spencer is the Mayor of St. Louis in Missouri. She assumed office on April 15, 2025. Her current term ends on April 17, 2029.

Spencer ran for election for Mayor of St. Louis in Missouri. She won in the general election on April 8, 2025.

Mayoral elections in St. Louis are nonpartisan. Spencer is affiliated with the Democratic Party.^[1]^[2]

Biography

Spencer earned her bachelor's in mathematics from Truman State University. Her professional experience includes working as a mathematical modeler for Mattson Jack Group, a healthcare consulting firm.^[3]

Elections

2025

See also: Mayoral election in St. Louis, Missouri (2025)

General election

General election for Mayor of St. Louis

Cara Spencer defeated incumbent Tishaura Jones in the general election for Mayor of St. Louis on April 8, 2025.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Cara Spencer (Nonpartisan)	64.1	32,162
	Tishaura Jones (Nonpartisan)	35.8	17,974
	Other/Write-in votes	0.0	1

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 50,137
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

**Nonpartisan primary for Mayor of St. Louis**
	Candidate	%	Votes
St. Louis uses approval voting, where voters may cast ballots for any number of candidates. A candidate's Approval Percentage is the number of votes cast for the candidate as a percentage of all votes cast. Under this system, the two candidates who receive the most votes advance to the general election.
	Cara Spencer (Nonpartisan)	68.11%	23,826
	Tishaura Jones (Nonpartisan)	33.19%	11,612
	Michael Butler (Nonpartisan)	24.87%	8,701
	Andrew Jones (Nonpartisan)	13.63%	4,769
Incumbents are bolded and underlined.		Total votes:	48,908
Source: St. Louis Primary Municipal election official results The results have been certified.

Endorsements

Spencer received the following endorsements.

AFL-CIO Missouri

2023

See also: City elections in St. Louis, Missouri (2023)

General election

General election for St. Louis Board of Aldermen Ward 8

Incumbent Cara Spencer defeated Kenneth Ortmann in the general election for St. Louis Board of Aldermen Ward 8 on April 4, 2023.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Cara Spencer (Nonpartisan)	77.1	1,799
	Kenneth Ortmann (Nonpartisan)	22.2	518
	Other/Write-in votes	0.7	16

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,333
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

**Nonpartisan primary for St. Louis Board of Aldermen Ward 8**
	Candidate	%	Votes
St. Louis uses approval voting, where voters may cast ballots for any number of candidates. A candidate's Approval Percentage is the number of votes cast for the candidate as a percentage of all votes cast. Under this system, the two candidates who receive the most votes advance to the general election.
	Cara Spencer (Nonpartisan)	73.86%	1,469
	Kenneth Ortmann (Nonpartisan)	29.41%	585
	Shedrick Kelley (Nonpartisan)	25.44%	506
Incumbents are bolded and underlined.		Total votes:	2,560
Source: St. Louis certified primary results, 2023 The results have been certified.

2021

General election

General election for Mayor of St. Louis

Tishaura Jones defeated Cara Spencer in the general election for Mayor of St. Louis on April 6, 2021.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Tishaura Jones (Nonpartisan)	51.7	30,166
	Cara Spencer (Nonpartisan)	47.8	27,865
	Other/Write-in votes	0.5	319

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 58,350
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Mayor of St. Louis

Tishaura Jones and Cara Spencer defeated Lewis E. Reed and Andrew Jones Jr. in the primary for Mayor of St. Louis on March 2, 2021.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Tishaura Jones (Nonpartisan)	36.4	25,388
✔	Cara Spencer (Nonpartisan)	29.7	20,659
	Lewis E. Reed (Nonpartisan)	24.7	17,186
	Andrew Jones Jr. (Nonpartisan)	9.2	6,428

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 69,661
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Note: The table above shows the percentage of votes received, while the table below shows the percentage of ballots cast. Under approval voting, voters may choose to vote for more than one candidate.

Nonpartisan primary for Mayor of St. Louis, 2021
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Tishaura Jones	56.97%	25,374
Cara Spencer	46.36%	20,649
Lewis Reed	38.53%	17,162
Andrew Jones	14.42%	6,422
Ballots Cast		44,538
Source: City of St. Louis

2019

General election

General election for St. Louis Board of Aldermen Ward 20

Incumbent Cara Spencer won election in the general election for St. Louis Board of Aldermen Ward 20 on April 2, 2019.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Cara Spencer (D)	96.0	334
	Other/Write-in votes	4.0	14

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 348
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for St. Louis Board of Aldermen Ward 20

Incumbent Cara Spencer defeated Satia R. Hutton in the Democratic primary for St. Louis Board of Aldermen Ward 20 on March 5, 2019.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Cara Spencer	69.5	660
	Satia R. Hutton	30.5	289

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 949
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Wendy R. Campbell (D)

2015

See also: St. Louis, Missouri municipal elections, 2015

The city of St. Louis, Missouri, held elections for Board of Aldermen on April 7, 2015. A primary election took place on March 3, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was January 2, 2015.^[4]

In the Democratic primary election for Ward 20, Cara Spencer defeated incumbent Craig Schmid and David A. Gaither. Vickie A. Ingram ran unopposed in the Green Party primary. Spencer defeated Ingram and Stephen Jehle (I) in the general election on April 7.^[5]^[6]

St. Louis Board of Aldermen, Ward 20 General Election, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Cara Spencer	69.3%	568
	Green	Vickie A. Ingram	1.3%	11
	Independent	Stephen Jehle	28.8%	236
	Write-in		0.6%	5
Total Votes				820
Source: St. Louis Board of Elections, "Election Summary Report," accessed January 6, 2020

St. Louis Board of Aldermen, Ward 20 Democratic Primary, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Cara Spencer	48.1%	360
Craig Schmid Incumbent	36%	270
David A. Gaither	15.9%	119
Total Votes		749
Source: St. Louis Board of Elections, "Primary Election Results," accessed May 18, 2015

Campaign themes

2025

Campaign website

Spencer's campaign website stated the following:

“

Pledging Racial Equity As Cornerstone of Decision Making
- Cara is committed to addressing racial inequity as a primary focus of her administration, uniting the city behind the issue and moving beyond tokenism to root out the systemic and cultural biases that exist in our government and institutions.
Revitalizing Neighborhoods
- The goal of Cara's administration will be not only to reduce vacancy citywide but to address the problem by combatting the issues that have led to the unsustainable and dilapidated housing.
Bringing Equity, Responsiveness to City Hall
- Cara's administration's approach will be to run the offices as efficiently and professionally as possible. The administration will form partnerships with residents and businesses to meet their needs.
Standing up to Special Interests
- For the past several years, Cara has led the fight against the privatization of the city's largest asset, St. Louis Lambert International Airport. As Mayor, Cara will continue to fight for the people of St. Louis City.
Protecting our Community from COVID-19
- Working with privates businesses and organizations — Bespoke, Wellmade Workshops, and the Chinese Education and Culture Center — Cara organized the distribution of masks for people experiencing homelessness.
Reducing Violence for a Safer St. Louis
- Reducing violence will be the measure of St. Louis' reclaiming its prominence in the region. The city is in crisis, unable to ensure a safe environment in which to live, work, and play.
Building an Economy that Works for Everyone
- Cara's administration will focus on reliable, well-thought-out development. It will be grounded in the purpose of city government - to serve its constituency.

^[7]

”

—Cara Spencer’s campaign website (2021)^[8]

Campaign advertisements

"Cara Spencer for Mayor" - Spencer campaign ad, released January 22, 2021

"Tough Fights" - Spencer campaign ad, released February 11, 2021

External links

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Footnotes

↑ Missouri Ethics Commission, "Cara Spencer For Mayor Committee Summary," accessed April 28, 2025
↑ Missouri Ethics Commission, "Cara Spencer Statement of Committee Organization," January 12, 2020
↑ Cara Spencer 2021 campaign website, "About Cara," accessed January 15, 2021
↑ St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners, "Municipal Elections," accessed September 19, 2014
↑ KSDK, "Unofficial election results," accessed April 8, 2015
↑ St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners, "Primary Election Candidate List," accessed January 5, 2015
↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
↑ Cara Spencer’s campaign website, “Issues,” accessed December 22, 2020

Political offices
Preceded by Tishaura Jones	Mayor of St. Louis 2025-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by Annie Lee Rice	St. Louis Board of Aldermen Ward 8 2023-2025	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	St. Louis Board of Aldermen Ward 20 2015-2023	Succeeded by -

[1] Missouri Ethics Commission, "Cara Spencer For Mayor Committee Summary," accessed April 28, 2025

[2] Missouri Ethics Commission, "Cara Spencer Statement of Committee Organization," January 12, 2020

[3] Cara Spencer 2021 campaign website, "About Cara," accessed January 15, 2021

[4] St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners, "Municipal Elections," accessed September 19, 2014

[5] KSDK, "Unofficial election results," accessed April 8, 2015

[6] St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners, "Primary Election Candidate List," accessed January 5, 2015

[quotedisclaimer-7] Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

[8] Cara Spencer’s campaign website, “Issues,” accessed December 22, 2020

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Cara Spencer

Biography

Elections

2025

General election

General election for Mayor of St. Louis

Nonpartisan primary election

Endorsements

2023

General election

General election for St. Louis Board of Aldermen Ward 8

Nonpartisan primary election

2021

General election

General election for Mayor of St. Louis

Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Mayor of St. Louis

2019

General election

General election for St. Louis Board of Aldermen Ward 20

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for St. Louis Board of Aldermen Ward 20

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

2015

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

2023

2021

Campaign website

Campaign advertisements

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2026 Elections

2025 Elections

Election analysis

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