Connie Johnson enters Senate race — but not Villa
In a race that lots of folks are watching: State Rep. Connie L. Johnson entered the fray late today in the 5th District Senate contest.
Johnson joins two other colleagues in the State House - Rodney Hubbard and Robin Wright-Jones - who are also vying for the seat.
But, no doubt, many Democrats are relieved that a fourth state rep, Tom Villa, did not enter the race. Party leaders were hearing that had Villa entered the race - and benefited from a split black electorate - that a backlash might have followed from African-American Democrats in the city.
A Villa victory would have meant no black senators representing St. Louis in the capital.
Without Villa, the campaign eschews some of those racial politics for what could be a bare-knuckle contest fought close to the ground: All three candidates have long coveted moving up the legislative ladder to Senate.
Johnson: Enters Senate race
It will be interesting to see what plum appointment surfaces for Villa. Ever since Jeff Smith won the city’s other “black” district, it has been apparent that party insiders would put on pressure to prevent a white candidate from taking advantage of a split black electorate and taking this district too.