Last night St. Louis Alderwoman Lyda Krewson won the Mayoral Democratic Primary, effectively making her the next Mayor of St. Louis. Krewson beat out her nearest opponent, City Treasurer Tishaura Jones, by a mere 888 votes.

Finishing with 32% of the Democratic vote, Krewson will go on to face the Republican victor, businessman Andrew Jones, in the general election on April 4th. But given the fact that the Democratic primary received 65,000 votes compared to the Republican’s less than 2,000 – it is unlikely that a serious challenge to Krewson’s candidacy will materialize.  

The last time that St. Louis elected a Republican as mayor was 1943, back when FDR was President, World War II was in full swing, and the Chicago Bears won the Superbowl.

Current Mayor Francis Slay declined to run for a 5th term last year, prompting a large field of candidates to turn-out for their party primaries. Lyda Krewson beat out six other fellow Democrats last night and Andrew Jones four other members of the GOP, Green, and Libertarian parties respectively. Lyda Krewson will likely become the first woman in history to be elected Mayor of St. Louis.