In 2022 I had a plan about how I wanted to proceed in politics- I wanted to run a race that starts closer to 50% that would also give me an opportunity to build on my organizing efforts in the region- so I chose to run for Lieutenant Governor. Well, nothing has really ended up working out for me this cycle.

After becoming aware that a terming-out State House member from Kansas City had intended to run for that seat, I bowed out to clear a path for him and save my supporters (and his campaign as well) time and money supporting a challenging primary race.

Our State House District- HD88- needed a Democratic candidate- but it’s very unlikely that someone could win that race this cycle, and as it turns out, a liberal candidate is now running for that seat as an independent- which will make it impossible for a Democrat to win that race- from a slim chance to none.

I felt like the Congressional race- which includes areas where I’m already established, my high school, and some areas that I was familiar with as a “civilian” but not in the political realm- might be a good opportunity to actually win a race and continue to organize in the region as well. I even stepped down from the MDP State Committee to focus on that race.

Well, while I expected other people to file for the Congressional race, I didn’t expect a well-known media personality like Ray Hartmann to jump in at the last minute. I have to admit that I’m a little frustrated about his sudden jump into politics, and the fact that he doesn’t actually live in MO02, but as it’s been challenging for me to get traction for the Congressional race I decided to step out.

A serious contender to defeat Ann Wagner needs to raise millions of dollars, and with Ray Hartmann entering the race, that amount would have grown quite a bit just to battle it out in a contested primary. I’m not willing to ask thousands of supporters to invest in a race that would likely burn through hundreds of thousands of dollars $35 at a time against someone who’s connected to the folks in St Louis (and beyond) who can afford to max out political candidates with large dollar donations.

I only managed to raise about $6,000 in 6 months of effort to fund this race- just barely exceeding the limit requiring an FEC campaign finance report. Viability for a political campaign is almost solely dependent upon fundraising capacity, and I have fallen flat in that regard.

To provide historical context: This is the third time in six years that I’ve exited a race to clear the way for another Democratic candidate, but I also don’t want to run another race that I can’t possibly win, either.

So what’s next?

Well, on Monday, I filed to run for Democratic Township Committeeman for Meramec Township in St. Louis Co. In St. Louis Co., Township clubs do the work of hosting community meetings, community outreach, supporting candidates, etc. Unfortunately, our current Committeeman has neglected to do the work to engage with voters in our District, keep up with social media accounts, host or organize Township meetings, or participate in required Committee activities regarding Party functions in the region. In St. Louis Co. Committee members serve a 4-year term and have a responsibility to be engaged and active as ambassadors and organizers for the Democratic Party- which is what I’ve spent the last 6 years doing in the entire region.

While I will appear on the August ballot for voters in Meramec Township, I’ll also (hopefully) be returning to represent the 26th Senate District in the Missouri Democratic Party’s State Committee as I won’t be busy as a political candidate per se for this cycle. We still have a lot of work to do in Missouri, and my focus will be to help our State House candidates in the region get the resources and support that they need to help them to run competitive- and hopefully winning- campaigns.

Also, I’ve moved my Congressional Candidate Committee to be effective for the 2026 cycle, and I intend to use the next 8 months as an opportunity to strengthen my presence in the 2nd Congressional by being a valuable resource and active participant in efforts to elect more Democrats. After we see the results of the November election I’ll decide what my next step will be regarding running for office in the future.

JohnKiehne.com will be my home base for local organizing for the rest of the year and my intention is to use those channels as a means to spotlight our area of the world and the Meramec Valley region, provide info about our candidates and policy initiatives, and provide factual, timely info about political activity locally, on the state level, and in Washington DC. You can find me most everywhere on social media at @johnkiehnelive.

As far as fundraising, after reworking my Congressional website a bit I’ll reopen efforts to raise money for a 2026 Congressional run at some point, but for the time being I’ll be opening up opportunities to support my run for Township Committeeman. Since I have an incumbent opponent, I intend to campaign for this position as I believe that this strip of voters along Hwy 44 is the gateway to winning more races in Franklin, Jefferson, Crawford, Washington, Gasconade, and Phelps Counties in the future.

So I’m not quitting, I’m just putting a pin in my efforts to run for office for the time being and spending more time rebuilding my business, enjoying my family, and helping to organize and activate Democrats in this region.

As always, thank you for your continued support, and hopefully if we keep working to push forward we’ll flip some seats in 2022 and beyond. We can do this!