ST. LOUIS – In one of the tightest primaries, Rep. Andrew Koenig defeated former Rep. Rick Stream by roughly 10 points to stay in the General Assembly.
The Kirkwood legislator beat Stream in the race for the 15th District in Tuesday’s Republican primary to replace the term-limited state Sen. Eric Schmitt.
For much of the night, Stream had a clear lead, but around 9:30 p.m., Koenig took the lead and never looked back. Koenig has been a member in the Missouri House of Representatives for the eight years he has served and has chaired the Ways and Means Committee since 2011.
Stream has been out of elected office for two years after suffering a narrow loss to Steve Stenger in the 2014 race for county executive. He served four full terms as a state representative before that race.
Both Stream and Koenig touted their conservative ideals in the races.
Stream will now have to defeat Democratic candidate Stephen Eagleton, a lawyer who lost in the 2008. However, the district skews Republican. In 2008, a year that heavily favored Democrats, Schmitt won by nearly 10 points. As a result, Koenig is heavily favored to win the seat.
