JEFFERSON CITY — With his path to Congress in 2026 blocked by U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner, term-limited state Sen. Bill Eigel is now pivoting toward a possible run for the St. Charles County Council.
In paperwork filed Friday with the Missouri Ethics Commission, the Weldon Spring Republican and runner-up in the Republican race for governor, formed a new fundraising committee to run for a county post two years from now.
It is not clear whether Eigel is seeking to replace County Executive Steve Ehlmann, who is retiring when his term ends in 2026, or hoping to win a seat on the seven-member council.
Ehlmann was elected to his fifth term as county executive in 2022, and he’ll be 77 at the end of his current term.
Candidate filing won’t get underway until February 2026.
The Weldon Spring section of the council currently is represented by District 7 representative Tim Baker. Council members earn at least $18,800 and up to $20,900.
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Eigel did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
Eigel earlier this month created a federal campaign account in a signal he was readying for a run to represent Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District in Washington, D.C.
But the current congresswoman, Wagner, told the Post-Dispatch she intends to run again for the seat she’s held since 2013.
After losing the August GOP primary for governor to Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, Eigel — who led a disruptive conservative faction in the Legislature’s upper chamber — has sought to keep his profile high.
Earlier this month, for example, he hosted a rally against Amendment 3 on the Nov. 5 ballot, which would overturn the state’s abortion ban.
While other counties in the St. ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëùµ¼º½ÍøÖ· region have shrunk or stagnated in decades, St. Charles County has seen major growth. It is home to about 410,000 residents and ranks third in per capita income in Missouri behind St. ²»Á¼Ñо¿Ëùµ¼º½ÍøÖ· County and Kansas City’s Platte County.