CLAYTON 鈥 The Republican nominee for 狐狸视频 County executive is dropping out of the race after all.
Katherine Pinner filed Friday morning to have her name removed from the ballot with 狐狸视频 County Courts, according to court spokesman John O鈥橲ullivan.
Pinner told party officials she was dropping out late last week but then said in a blog post Monday she was staying in because she felt she needed to uphold her 鈥渃ommitment to God, to myself, and to the voters.鈥
鈥淚 wish Katherine nothing but the best,鈥 said Rene Artman, the chair of the 狐狸视频 County Republican Party. 鈥淎nd now we have to find a candidate.鈥
Pinner could not immediately be reached for comment, but wrote in a blog post she decided to drop out in part because 鈥渢raditional campaigning and financing do not correspond to my core values.鈥 She also cited 鈥減ersonal items鈥 as a reason.
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鈥淚 hope for a candidate who can hit the ground running with critical items currently facing the County,鈥 Pinner wrote.
County Republican leaders have until Sept. 13 to pick a replacement, according to Rick Stream, the Republican director of the county elections board. Artman said they鈥檒l move as quickly as possible to give the new nominee time to campaign ahead of the Nov. 8 election.
The county Republican central committee鈥檚 first step is to gather a list of candidates. Then the committee will hold a public meeting to interview candidates. That鈥檚 expected to happen next week. Finally, they鈥檒l take a private vote on a nominee.
Artman said she鈥檚 accepting resumes but doesn鈥檛 have a list of candidates yet.
After Pinner threatened to drop out the first time, names began circulating among county Republicans about who could replace her. One of the names was Republican County Councilman Tim Fitch, whose term ends the last day of the year. Fitch said earlier this week he wouldn鈥檛 run to replace her on the ballot.
Another name was Shamed Dogan, the state representative from Ballwin whom Pinner defeated in a surprise primary victory in August. Missouri law prohibits a candidate who lost in a primary from running in the General Election, according to Stream.
Dogan declined to comment Friday, but in an interview with the Post-Dispatch earlier this week said the law could be up for legal interpretation if a losing candidate from the same party is seeking to replace a nominee who dropped out.
It won鈥檛 matter if the GOP doesn鈥檛 want to nominate Dogan, said Michael Jones, a longtime political adviser from 狐狸视频.
鈥淲hoever it is, they鈥檝e got a challenge,鈥 Jones said.
Meantime, the campaign for Democratic incumbent Sam Page will 鈥渓eave a blank on the campaign mail,鈥 said campaign spokesman Richard Callow.
鈥淲e鈥檒l fill it in if they settle on a new candidate who actually stays in the race,鈥 Callow said.
Pinner was an unconventional candidate from the start. Republican leaders in the county paid her little attention prior to her win, and then she declined their offers of assistance in her campaign ahead of the General Election. She didn鈥檛 raise any money, have a social media presence or post yard signs. Only Pinner鈥檚 personal website, home to her blog, made mention of her candidacy.
Early last week, Pinner filed a lawsuit against her former employer for discrimination, alleging she was fired because she refused to wear a mask or get vaccinated for COVID-19. She said wearing masks violates her religion because they鈥檙e linked to 鈥渟atanic ritual abuse.鈥
Pinner has thwarted questions from the press and even members of her own party. At two Republican meetings last week, she refused to answer questions about her campaign strategy. She also dodged questions from a radio show host on KTRS (550 AM), calling her strategy a 鈥渟ecret sauce.鈥
Pinner鈥檚 withdrawal from the race, filed Friday morning, was ordered by 狐狸视频 County Circuit Court Judge Dean P. Waldemer.
Taylor Tiamoyo Harris of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.