Steve Ehlmann took an early lead in the St. Charles County executive race Tuesday night, putting the incumbent in position to claim a sixth term as the county's top elected official. Early vote totals showed him ahead of three opponents as results began coming in on Aug. 4, 2026.
The lead mattered because it came on election night, when the first counts often shape the rest of the evening and tell voters whether a race is tightening or opening up. Ehlmann was among dozens of voters who cast ballots Tuesday morning at St. Charles West High School before heading into the night with the first returns still ahead of him.
At Tubby’s Hall in St. Charles, well-wishers applauded as early election results were announced at Ehlmann’s watch party. The reaction underscored how much the opening numbers favored him, even with only early totals in hand and no final result yet to settle the race.
Jason Law had his own watch party at Lake Forest Country Club in Lake Saint Louis, where he talked with a supporter as the night unfolded. That split-screen view captured the stakes of the county executive contest: one candidate pulling ahead early, while the race itself was still far from complete.
The open question is not whether Ehlmann had the better start. He did. The question is whether the early lead held once all ballots were counted, and whether voters were prepared to return him for the sixth term he sought.
