Stephen Webber (born June 8, 1983) is the former Chair of the Missouri Democratic Party.[1] Webber served as a Democratic member of the Missouri House of Representatives from 2009 to 2016, representing the 46th District in central Missouri. Before taking office, Webber served two tours of duty in Iraq with the United States Marine Corps. He resides in Columbia. Webber was a potential candidate for Missouri governor but did not enter the race .[2]
Webber has served two tours of duty in Iraq with the United States Marine Corps.[7][8] His first tour, which began in 2004 and lasted 7 months, found him stationed outside Abu Ghraib prison. In 2006, he returned to Iraq, this time to Fallujah, as a squad leader of 12 other Marines.[5][9]
After returning from Iraq, he worked as an aide to Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) in Washington, D.C.[5]
On February 19, 2008, Webber announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination to replace Representative Jeff Harris as the member for the 23rd District in the Missouri House of Representatives.[9] Harris, a Democrat, had previously announced he would not run for reelection in order to run for attorney general of Missouri.[10]
Webber defeated opponent Cande Iveson in the August 5, 2008 Democratic primary election, with 3,391 votes to her 1,735,[11] or 66.2 percent to 33.8 percent of the vote.[12]
During the primary campaign, the Columbia Daily Tribune reported that Webber had received a number of "high-powered endorsements" from "education groups, labor unions and a bevy of Columbia political figures"[13] including former Missouri governor Roger B. Wilson[12] and local Democratic booster Bruce Wilson.
General election
Webber ran unopposed in the November 4th, 2008 general election,[14][15] winning 100% of the vote[16] and making him the youngest representative in the state.[17]
In office
Upon election, Webber and fellow incoming representatives Mary Still and Chris Kelly announced a number of legislative initiatives, vowing to increase funding for the University of Missouri,[18] add "robo-calls" to Missouri's No Call List,[19] increase state restrictions on short-term or "payday" loans,[20] and change Missouri election law to allow early voting.[21]
During his first term as representative, Webber sat on the Rules Committee, a Special Standing Committee on Workforce Development and Workplace Safety, and the Homeland Security Committee.[22][23]
State Senate elections
In April 2015 State Rep. Stephen Webber announced his intention to seek the 19th District State Senate seat. In his announcement Webber described the importance of the Mid-Missouri community, "When I was sitting in Fallujah, the place I wanted to come back to was Boone County, it wasn't anywhere else in the world," Webber said. "The community has invested a lot in me and I want to make sure we invest in the next generation of Missourians."[24] The incumbent State Senator, Kurt Schaefer, was term limited. Webber was unopposed in the August 2016 Democratic primary election, and in November he faced Republican state Representative Caleb Rowden. District 19 was made up of two counties: Boone and Cooper, with 91% of the votes cast in Boone and only 9% cast in Cooper. Webber narrowly won Boone by a margin of 1,063 votes, but Rowden won Cooper by a landslide of 3,219 votes, giving Rowden the win district-wide.
In February of 2024, Webber filed to run for District 19 again, which is currently made up of only Boone County, and is unopposed again in the Democratic primary.[25]
Electoral history
State Representative
2008 General Election for Missouri’s 23rd District House of Representatives[26]
^Carnahan, Robin. "Missouri Secretary of State". Missouri Secretary of State Election Night Results. MO Secretary of State. Archived from the original on 25 July 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
^Kander, Jason. "Missouri Secretary of State". Missouri Secretary of State Election Night Results. MO SOS. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
