St. Louis will have its third new mayor in 12 years.
Cara Spencer, currently the 8th Ward alderwoman, beat Mayor Tishaura Jones on Tuesday 64% to 36% in final unofficial results.
Turnout was 26% of registered voters.
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“This campaign was built on the simple idea that St. Louis can do better,” Spencer told a jubilant crowd gathered at the Grand Hall in Union Station. Some yelled back: “Yes we can.”
“But this campaign was about so much more than potholes and trash. It was built on the idea that we can build a downtown that we can all be proud of while making neighborhoods south and north safer and more prosperous,” Spencer said.
Jones told her supporters who watched the outcome at the Omega Center on the city’s northern edge that she was proud of what she was able to accomplish in her four years in office.
“Our city has never had a Black mayor serve more than one term,” Jones said.
“And I know many of you like me were looking to make history with me for the second time. But together, we've accomplished so much.”
Spencer took a moment during her speech to thank Jones for her service to the city, which included time as a state representative and city treasurer.
“While we disagreed on many things over the campaign trail, I know that we share a deep love and a commitment to our city,” she said.
Tuesday’s outcome was foreshadowed by Spencer garnering more than double Jones’ vote total in a four-way primary in March.
Spencer ran a campaign that focused on the Jones administration's failures to provide basic city services such as trash pickup, a point underscored by the city’s response to a January winter storm. Jones later admitted that the response was inadequate, but the damage had been done.
Spencer regularly highlighted problems with grants to north side businesses and pledged more transparency in city government. She also emphasized the need to make the city’s streets safer for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists.
Jones, meanwhile, hit Spencer for a lack of specificity in her plans to address major problems in the city.
Jones had wins she could point to on the campaign trail. Crime continues to drop in St. Louis. In the first three months of 2025, St. Louis police tallied the lowest number of homicides in that time period in 20 years. Demolition began on the Workhouse jail, and work is underway on a new consolidated 911 center that officials say could bring down call wait times.
In recent weeks, progressive activists who had largely stayed on the sidelines in the primary began to more loudly advocate for Jones. A hundred of them published an op-ed in the St. Louis American encouraging voters to give her a second term.
But competing with Spencer’s fundraising juggernaut was a heavy lift. Her campaign raised more than $1 million, including almost $300,000 between Feb. 23 and March 27. Spencer also benefited from hundreds of thousands of dollars in PAC spending.
Much of the money raised by those PACs came from large developers and construction firms. Clayco, led by Bob Clark, chipped in more than $130,000, and Clark himself contributed to Spencer’s campaign and the PACs to the tune of more than $12,000.
Spencer rejected the idea that the large financial contributions would make her beholden to Clark in the future.
Jones noted that she’s leaving office with a crime rate that’s declining and hundreds of millions of dollars in development in the pipeline.
She said that Spencer will inherit “countless projects that I started.”
“I truly hope that my opponent keeps that good work going. I pray for it, because our city cannot afford to let back-to-basics take us back to where we've been,” Jones said.
Major challenges and a fast transition
Spencer will have major challenges to address almost immediately upon taking office. The clock is ticking on the transition of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department back to state control, which comes with financial impacts to the city.
Policy changes at the state and federal levels are also wreaking havoc on the city’s budget, and the revenue picture is already shaky. A quarterly budget report released in January noted that while spending remained under budget, partially due to ongoing vacant positions, “overall revenues are trailing budget estimates.”
And the new mayor will not have much time to set up her administration. Inauguration is April 15.
Spencer was noncommittal when asked what changes she would make for her cabinet.
“They’re in the works, and we’re excited to announce them in the coming days,” she said.
In her concession speech, Jones said she hopes that St. Louisans hold Spencer accountable for following through on her promises.
“And I still believe that St. Louis' brightest days are ahead of us and not behind us.”
The special election to replace Spencer on the Board of Aldermen will take place in early July.
This story has been updated to include comments from Spencer and Jones.
