After being in print and on the air for almost 50 years, Riverfront Times founder Ray Hartmann will now be on the ballot.
Hartmann announced Thursday that he will run in the Democratic primary for the 2nd Congressional District seat, now held by U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Town and Country.
鈥淚 know this gets said every four years, but this election is pivotal for democracy,鈥 said Hartmann, 71.
Hartmann, a Richmond Heights resident who is moving to St. Charles County, is married with two children.
His first big splash in the 狐狸视频 area came with his founding the Riverfront Times in 1977.
After leading the alternative weekly newspaper for over two decades, Hartmann sold it in 1998. He acquired 狐狸视频 magazine in 2002 and managed it until its sale in 2018.
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For a brief time following the magazine鈥檚 sale, he returned to the RFT as an opinion columnist. He has since written for the news website Raw Story and .
Hartmann also was one of the original panelists on 鈥淒onnybrook,鈥 a public-affairs debate show on KETC (Channel 9) that made its debut in 1987.
On Thursday night鈥檚 show, Hartmann announced that he would be leaving the panel.
鈥淥bviously, if I鈥檓 running for Congress, I have to retire from journalism,鈥 he said.
Along with the print and television exposure, Hartmann has been heard regularly on radio over the years: WGNU (920 AM) in the 1980s; KMOX (1120 AM) in the 1990s; and on KTRS (550 AM) from 2018-2022.
A 1970 Parkway Central High graduate, Hartmann graduated from the journalism school at the University of Missouri in Columbia.
After leaving Mizzou in 1974, he worked as a reporter in New York state and then returned to Missouri in 1975 to take a position as a speechwriter for then-Gov. Christopher 鈥淜it鈥 Bond, a Republican.
Hartmann also has served on the boards of the American Civil Liberties Union and the Starkloff Disability Institute.
In 2020, Hartmann filed for bankruptcy, claiming assets of $65,000 and debts of more than $1 million.
Hartmann will be the second Democratic candidate in the race for the Aug. 6 primary. John Kiehne, 56, of Eureka, who has run unsuccessfully for the state Legislature in the past, also has filed.
Wagner is seeking her seventh term in the GOP-leaning 2nd District, which includes parts of west and south 狐狸视频 County; parts of St. Charles and Warren counties; and all of Franklin County.
In 2022, Wagner won reelection over Trish Gunby, a Democratic state representative, with a 55%-to-43% edge.
Hartmann said that if he wins the primary, he will concentrate on what he believes are the key differences between himself and Wagner.
鈥淥ne, I support women鈥檚 reproductive freedom; and two, I will oppose (former President) Donald Trump,鈥 he said.
Wagner recently found herself in the middle of an intraparty clash with U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, a fellow Republican who had pushed through legislation aimed at compensating 狐狸视频-area victims of radiation exposure.
When Wagner questioned the fiscal soundness of the legislation, Hawley lambasted her on social media.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 make it a habit of agreeing with Josh Hawley,鈥 Hartmann said. 鈥淏ut he called (Wagner鈥檚 comments) shameful, and I think he鈥檚 right.鈥
Subsequently, Wagner has come out in support of the legislation.