Possible Congressional Candidate Not Jumping In Yet

On Monday, a St. Louis County doctor Thursday, Dr. Randy Jotte was in the audience as the two declared candidates, attorney Ed Martin and former RNC Co-Chair Ann Wagner appeared at a South County candidate forum.

Despite frigid temperatures, roughly one hundred people turned out at the .

Wagner and Martin had been invited to speak, and Jotte came to listen, chat, and get the lay of the land. (Wagner had been at a Creve Coeur event and arrived too late to speak to the group.) Jotte had suggested that if he’d be there, it meant he was leaning toward running. He still wouldn't commit Thursday.

“I’ll discuss my thoughts publicly shortly,” he said.

He spoke to Patch only in general terms about his reason for running.

“If you have concerns that are in your heart you have to be true to that,” he said. “If you look at the gifts, the resources you have, you apply those to the larger good if you can. And that’s the question at hand.”

Jotte has most recently run unsuccessfully for the Missouri General Assembly and St. Louis County Council.

The two already committed to the race didn’t appear to be concerned.

“I know of Randy Jotte and I know he’s run for office before, but we’re really just focused on our race 110 percent of the time,” Wagner said. “We filed back (on) April 26, so it’s been over eight months.”

Martin knew Jotte was in the room, but seemed surprised that he might have committed.

“Has he gotten in?” Martin asked. “He’s a really good man, and I know him, actually I know his parents from church, and I’ve gotten to know him over the years. I’m a big fan of the more the merrier in races.”

John Judd, Republican committeeman for Tesson Ferry Township, had little hope for Jotte.

“The field is set,” he said. “The nominee will be either Ann Wagner or Ed Martin. It’s far too late to get in for anyone else.”

“They have all the money cornered,” Judd said. “They have all the workers cornered. The primary field is set. We had the nominee in that room tonight."