As part of our ongoing effort to highlight races from across the state of Missouri, The Missouri Times is profiling all three candidates in the 2nd Senatorial District.
O’FALLON, Mo. — Former state representative Vicki Schneider admits that at first, she didn’t care much for elected office. But that was at first. And now, more than a decade after her first term, she’s running in one of the wide-open races in the state.
The 2nd senatorial district covers a vast portion of St. Charles County and for several years has been dominated by Republican politics. When incumbent senator Scott Rupp accepted an appointment from Gov. Jay Nixon to sit on the Public Service Commission, the district suddenly lost an incumbent.
When the filing deadline for the heavily Republican seat closed with not a single Democrat contending, assumption became reality. Whoever won the primary, won the seat.
Schneider is squaring off against two other area lawmakers. Former state representative, Dr. Bob Onder and current Rep. Chuck Gatschenberger are both vying for the seat.
In a Republican primary in St. Charles with three former House members running for the upper chamber, what distinguished the candidates? Schneider says the decision isn’t just a toss up, and notes what she sees as the difference between her and the other candidates.
“The difference between myself and Bob [Onder] would be that he’s a one-issue candidate,” Schneider told The Missouri Times. “He only seems to care about social issues. I care about social issues, economic development, jobs. I’ve been in business 38 years. There has to be more to a senator than just one issue.”
Schneider says that while she agrees with Onder — who is staunchly pro-life — on most social issues, she sees a broader platform necessary to serve the people in the district. In comparing herself to Gatschenberger, Schneider doesn’t mince words.
“He can’t get anything done, can’t get anything passed at all,” Schneider said. “He can’t work with fellow members. He doesn’t know what’s happening with his own bills. I was chair of Local Government before he was, I got an omnibus bill through. He didn’t. He couldn’t.”
Schneider will have to work hard to get that message to voters in the wide-open race. Onder — who finished second against Blaine Luetkemeyer in a bid for Congress in 2008 — is a gifted fundraiser. Gatschenberger, on the other hand, is likely to at least partially self-finance his race and has the most recent tenure in the legislature of the three.
Schneider says that she is more engrained in the community than her opponents, which makes her a dangerous contender. She graduated from Ft. Zumwalt High School before attending St. Mary’s College, both in O’Fallon. She also prides herself on her charitable participation.
She has served as either a board member or an active participant in the Boys and Girls Club, the Leukemia Society, the Cancer Society and the Home Builder’s Charitable Foundation, among others.
“I’ve served on more than 10 charitable organizations across this community,” Schneider said. “I’ve always been passionate about serving others and I’ve always done it whether or not I was seeking office. Have my opponents helped anybody in the community other than when they ran for office?”
The primary date is August 5.
Collin Reischman was the Managing Editor for The Missouri Times, and a graduate of Webster University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.
