Press "Enter" to skip to content

Koenig looks towards general election after come-from-behind primary win

ST. LOUIS – The polls leading up to the state Senate race in the 15th District looked grim for Rep. Andrew Koenig. Down nine points to former Rep. Rick Stream just a week out from the election, it appeared that Stream would rejoin the General Assembly after a two year absence.

Election night told a wildly different story.

Koenig won handily by six points, which amounted to 1,600 votes.

“Going into it, obviously the polls didn’t look good, but it felt good when we were knocking on doors,” Koenig said.

That door-knocking was a testament to the type of campaign Koenig ran, and a big component as to how he felt he won the election. Koenig and his campaign began their door knocking operations in June of 2015 a full 14 months before the Aug. 2, 2016 primary. He, his staffers, and his volunteers hit over 25,000 doors and had yard signs at over 1,000 locations, a ground game which he said “set us apart.”

He also had help in other arenas as well, especially online. Victory Enterprises, the political consulting firm hired by Koenig, helped him gain a larger presence on social media than the Stream campaign.

“This campaign showed that investing in digital is no longer a luxury for campaigns. It’s a necessity,” said Victory Enterprises Digital Manager Charlie Puyear.

Steve Michael, a consultant with Victory, built on that idea.

“We are in an era of unprecedented media transition with the growth of alternative mediums… and the availability of massive amounts of new consumer behavior data,” Michael said in a statement. “It is imperative that candidates not only develop custom data plans, but that they invest in the delivery of their messages including appropriate investments in digital media.”

“Koenig’s campaign showed the impact that a custom digital campaign can have on Election Day,” Puyear added.

Koenig believes that presence combined with the name recognition gained from his work knocking thousands of doors gave him the edge.

With his win, Koenig is a strong favorite in the Republican heavy district where Sen. Eric Schmitt has been a popular elected official for the last eight years. In 2008, Schmitt beat Democrat James Trout by nearly 10 points in a year that heavily favored the liberal party. Koenig is likely to do the same against this year’s Democratic contender Stephen Eagleton.

While Koenig is still campaigning aggressively, he knows that the tougher of the two fights is likely over and he wants to ensure other conservative candidates get elected. He cited losses by more moderate Republicans and wins by conservatives as encouraging.

“I’m thrilled Bill Eigel won in St. Charles where with Anne Zerr, I probably would not have worked nearly as well with,” he said. “I think the Legislature’s in a much better place after the primary.”

He also hopes to help Republican Dr. Randy Jotte in his campaign against incumbent South County Sen. Scott Sifton. While Jotte and Eigel have both played up their role as outsiders in the election, Koenig’s stature as an eight-year veteran of Jefferson City does not give him that talking point on the campaign trail. However, he says he knows the nuance and intricacies of the political process and has productive working relationships in place with many state senators, even if he does not emphasize that point upon the people of his district when he campaigns.

“I’ve served with a lot of the members of the Senate in the House and with the number of bills I had over in the Senate, I’ve certainly had a lot of interaction with a lot of senators,” Koenig said. “Working on legislation, getting that personal connection, talking to senators at a personal level is very important.”

Legislation he would like to work on in the Senate includes foster care issues given he and his wife’s status as foster parents and a reformation of the current tax code.. But his biggest project is his hope to expand on HB 1434, his TIF reform bill signed by Gov. Jay Nixon in June and passed with bipartisan support. This bill and others like it, he hopes, will limit corporate welfare.

“Corporate welfare is something people on both sides whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat,the vast majority of people are fed up with government because they see the cronyism that goes on.”

UPDATE – 3:25 p.m.: Added comments from members of Victory Enterprises.