State Rep. Renee Reuter, R-Imperial, announced this week she no longer plans to run for the state Senate but instead will run as a Republican candidate for Jefferson County Division 12 associate judge this fall.
The current Div. 12 association judge is Antonio “Tony” Manansala, who said his term ends in January 2027, and he will not seek reelection.
Candidate filings for the Aug. 4 primary begin on Feb. 24 and close on March 31. Primary winners from each political party will face off for the office in the Nov. 3 general election.
Reuter, an attorney working as senior intellectual property counsel at the Armstrong Teasdale law term, is serving her second term as state representative for District 112 in northern Jefferson County. Last March, she announced her intention to run for the state Senate District 22 seat currently held by Mary Elizabeth Coleman. District 22 covers the northern half of Jefferson County.
“When Judge Manansala said he wasn’t going to run again, I thought this is an interesting opportunity and it would bring me back home more often,” Reuter said Tuesday. “My family’s in Jefferson County. I’ve loved every minute of being in Jefferson City, serving the people here. I kind of feel like it’s time for a new challenge, a new chapter in my life, and this would be a natural expansion of what I’ve done in the past.”
Reuter, 57, has been a state representative for the last three and a half years, and before that was a County Council member for 12 years. She said that experience taught her how to write laws, and serving as a judge would be an opportunity to analyze and apply the law.
“I’ve been on the (House) Judiciary Committee for the last couple of years, and right now I’m the vice chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, so I’ve gotten to know the Supreme Court judges pretty well,” she said. “I know all the judges in our circuit just from the service that I’ve done for the county and for the state. I think it’ll be a rather smooth transition should the voters allow me to do this. I think I can really make a difference.”
Reuter said she spent the past couple of months talking with legislators about the role of a senator and to judges about what they do before deciding that being a judge was “the next best thing” for her.
Reuter unsuccessfully introduced legislation in 2025 to create an additional associate circuit judge position in Jefferson County, which has six circuit and six associate circuit judges.
She said there is disparity when you look at the number of cases and the number of judges in Jefferson County compared to St. Louis and St. Louis County. She also said several cities in Jefferson County have turned over cases to the Jefferson County Circuit Court, adding that there is a need for a Mental Health Court, too.
This session, she said, two other state representatives, Phil Amato, R-Arnold, and Cameron Parker, R-Campbell, filed legislation related to the addition of judges in Missouri.
Reuter attended Jefferson College from 1987-1988, earned an associate degree in history from Pikes Peak Community College in 1993, a bachelor’s degree in American history and political science from Colorado College in 1995, and a law degree from St. Louis University School of Law in 2002.
Reuter said she is currently going through a divorce from her husband, Mike Reuter, the Jefferson County circuit clerk.
Senate race
State Rep. David Casteel, R-High Ridge, also announced in March his intent to run for the District 22 state Senate seat. On Tuesday morning, at Leader deadline, Casteel would not say whether he still plans to run for that seat.
Jim Avery, a former state representative for District 95 in St. Louis County, kicked off his campaign for the District 22 state Senate seat in August.
Reuter said as a candidate for judge, judicial ethics do not allow her to endorse a candidate.