REPLACING:

Blaine Luetkemeyer (R) [i]

WORK HISTORY:

Missouri State Senate (Member, District 2); Missouri House of Representatives (Member, District 13); Midwest Clinical Research, LLC (President and Principal Investigator) [ii]

EDUCATION:

BA, Washington University in St. Louis; MD, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis; JD, St. Louis University School of Law [iii]

CAMPAIGNED ON:

Fighting Illegal Immigration; Defending Life; Standing Up for the Second Amendment; Fighting for Lower Taxes; Fighting the Woke Agenda; Securing Our Election; Standing with Israel; Supports Welfare Reform [iv]

ON THE ISSUES

REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS:

A pro-life candidate, Onder stated that, as a member of the Missouri Senate, he authored legislation to restore “common sense health and safety standards on abortion clinics and protecting pregnancy care centers.” He also sponsored legislation known as the “Heartbeat Bill,” which he said Missouri Right to Life called “the most important pro-life bill in Missouri history.” He noted that the bill also included a “trigger clause that enabled Missouri to be the first in the nation to protect all innocent human life.” [v]

IMMIGRATION & BORDER SECURITY:

According to his campaign website, as a state senator, Onder sponsored legislation to ban sanctuary cities, penalize public employers who hire undocumented immigrants, and end “catch-and-release” policies. He cited the Federation for American Immigration reform in calling this legislation “the strongest state law in the country to fight illegal immigration.” [vi]

ECONOMY & JOBS:

In 2024, Onder argued that the “real” economic issues facing the United States included “high interest rates and low supply,” which he said was “due to inflationary policies of the Biden-Harris administration, and the war on domestic energy, which affects every aspect of the economy including home building." [vii] He has also blamed inflation on “overspending and printing money.” [viii]

TAXES:

Onder supports lowering income taxes, and he has argued that ending the “Trump tax cuts” would “be a tax hike on every American family.” [ix] [x]

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY:

In 2021, Onder supported state legislation that sought to institute several criminal justice reforms, including creating a use-of-force database, bolstering tracking of officers with problematic records, and preventing the use of chokeholds. [xi]

CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT:

Onder has called for U.S. energy independence, expressing support for “drill[ing] for domestic energy” instead of “begging foreign dictators for oil.” He applauded a Supreme Court decision to end the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Waters of the United States” rules, calling the ruling a “big victory for property rights and farmers.” [xii] [xiii]

FOREIGN POLICY:

An opponent of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, Onder supported state legislation that he said prevented “taxpayer dollars from going to entities engaged in a boycott against Israel.” [xiv]

HEALTHCARE & SOCIAL SAFETY NET:

Onder has opposed “Obamacare Medicaid Expansion” and “Bidencare Medicaid Expansion.” He was against allowing food stamps to be used at restaurants and for fast food. [xv]

DEMOCRACY:

During the campaign, Onder touted that he negotiated a slew of state election reforms, which he said, “made Missouri’s voting system among the most secure in the nation.” He said the package “thwarted proposals to extend early voting, mail-in voting, and drop boxes.” He also said the legislation “banned Zuckerbucks and mandated paper ballots.” [xvi]

SOCIAL ISSUES:

Onder has said that he led passage of state legislation to “protect women’s sports and outlaw harmful transgender hormonal or surgical ‘treatments’ of children.” He also sponsored a bill to “guard against public school children being indoctrinated with divisive Critical Race Theory.” [xvii]