Jewel Kelly, Jr.
Candidate, Missouri House of Representatives District 106
November 3, 2026
Education
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, 1997
Washington University, St. Louis School of Law, 2018
Military
U.S. Air Force
2001 - 2011
Jewel Kelly, Jr. (Democratic Party) is running for election to theMissouri House of Representatives to representDistrict 106. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.[source]
Kelly completed Ballotpedia'sCandidate Connection survey in 2025.Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Jewel Kelly was born inChicago, Illinois. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 2001 to 2011. Kelly earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1997 and a graduate degree from Olivet Nazarene University in 2002. In 2018, he earned a second graduate degree from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law.
Kelly’s career experience includes working as a licensed real estate agent and small business owner. Previously, he was a program and operations manager for an American multinational conglomerate. Kelly founded A Fighting Chance Foundation, a mental health and suicide awareness nonprofit.[1][2]
Elections
2026
See also: Missouri House of Representatives elections, 2026
General election
The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.
General election for Missouri House of Representatives District 106
IncumbentTravis Wilson,Jewel Kelly, Jr., andChris Sander are running in the general election for Missouri House of Representatives District 106 on November 3, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Travis Wilson (R) | ||
Jewel Kelly, Jr. (D) ![]() | ||
| Chris Sander (R) | ||
Incumbents arebolded and underlined. | ||||
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
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2022
See also: United States Senate election in Missouri, 2022
General election
General election for U.S. Senate Missouri
The following candidates ran in the general election for U.S. Senate Missouri on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Eric Schmitt (R) | 55.4 | 1,146,966 | |
| Trudy Busch Valentine (D) | 42.2 | 872,694 | ||
| Jonathan Dine (L) | 1.7 | 34,821 | ||
| Paul Venable (Constitution Party) | 0.7 | 14,608 | ||
| Nathan Mooney (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 14 | ||
| Steve Price (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 9 | ||
| Rik Combs (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 6 | ||
| Gina Bufe (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 5 | ||
| Theodis Brown Sr. (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 4 | ||
| David Kirk (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 3 | ||
| Martin Lindstedt (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 0 | ||
There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 2,069,130 | |||
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Nicholas Strauss (Independent)
- Ronald Deets (Independent)
- John Wood (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Missouri
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate Missouri on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Trudy Busch Valentine | 43.2 | 158,957 | |
Lucas Kunce ![]() | 38.3 | 141,203 | ||
Spencer Toder ![]() | 4.7 | 17,465 | ||
Carla Wright ![]() | 3.9 | 14,438 | ||
Gena Ross ![]() | 2.4 | 8,749 | ||
Jewel Kelly, Jr. ![]() | 1.8 | 6,464 | ||
Lewis Rolen ![]() | 1.4 | 5,247 | ||
Pat Kelly ![]() | 1.4 | 5,002 | ||
Ronald William Harris ![]() | 1.1 | 4,074 | ||
Joshua Shipp ![]() | 0.9 | 3,334 | ||
Clarence Taylor ![]() | 0.9 | 3,322 | ||
There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 368,255 | |||
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Timothy Shepard (D)
- Scott Sifton (D)
- Ronald Deets (D)
- MD Rabbi Alam (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. Senate Missouri
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Missouri on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Eric Schmitt | 45.6 | 299,282 | |
| Vicky Hartzler | 22.1 | 144,903 | ||
| Eric Greitens | 18.9 | 124,155 | ||
| Billy Long | 5.0 | 32,603 | ||
| Mark McCloskey | 3.0 | 19,540 | ||
| Dave Schatz | 1.1 | 7,509 | ||
| Patrick Lewis | 0.9 | 6,085 | ||
Curtis D. Vaughn ![]() | 0.5 | 3,451 | ||
| Eric McElroy | 0.4 | 2,805 | ||
| Robert Allen | 0.3 | 2,111 | ||
C.W. Gardner ![]() | 0.3 | 2,044 | ||
| Dave Sims | 0.3 | 1,949 | ||
| Bernie Mowinski | 0.2 | 1,602 | ||
| Deshon Porter | 0.2 | 1,574 | ||
| Darrell Leon McClanahan III | 0.2 | 1,139 | ||
| Rickey Joiner | 0.2 | 1,084 | ||
| Robert Olson | 0.2 | 1,081 | ||
| Dennis Lee Chilton | 0.1 | 755 | ||
| Russel Pealer Breyfogle Jr | 0.1 | 685 | ||
| Kevin Schepers | 0.1 | 681 | ||
| Hartford Tunnell | 0.1 | 637 | ||
There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 655,675 | |||
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- John Brinkmann (R)
- Dan McQueen (R)
- Ronald Deets (R)
- Rik Combs (R)
Constitution primary election
Constitution primary for U.S. Senate Missouri
Paul Venable advanced from the Constitution primary for U.S. Senate Missouri on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Paul Venable | 100.0 | 792 | |
There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 792 | |||
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
Libertarian primary election
Libertarian primary for U.S. Senate Missouri
Jonathan Dine advanced from the Libertarian primary for U.S. Senate Missouri on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jonathan Dine | 100.0 | 2,973 | |
There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source | Total votes: 2,973 | |||
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also:Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Jewel Kelly, Jr. completedBallotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Kelly's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Two months after 9/11, I answered the call to serve and joined the U.S. Air Force. I served as a captain and deployed twice to the Middle East, learning the importance of teamwork and the motto "leave no one behind."
After returning home, I spent over a decade in operations and project management at a global healthcare company, then co-founded a small real estate business. In 2023 I became a licensed mortgage lender, helping families buy their first homes and seeing firsthand how rising costs impact their lives.
In 2018, my family experienced tragedy when we lost my teenage bonus daughter to suicide. We turned our grief into action by founding a nonprofit, A Fighting Chance Foundation, to fight mental health stigma and connect people to care.
Through these experiences, I've learned the value of perseverance, compassion, and public service. I believe in community-centered leadership that listens to people and leaves no one behind. I'm running to continue serving my neighbors and to make sure every family has the support they need to thrive.- Lowering costs for working families: Missouri families are struggling with rising costs, and lowering everyday expenses is my top priority. I will work to make housing more affordable by increasing the supply of homes people can actually afford (for example, legalizing accessory dwelling units and speeding up permits). I'll fight to curb hidden fees and ensure transparency in billing — from utility bills to event tickets — by passing "Truth-in-Pricing" laws so families see the real price up front. And I'll push for tax relief for working people, including expanding Missouri's Working Family Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit, so paychecks stretch further and families keep more of what they earn.
- Healthcare that includes mental health: Mental health is health, and we need a system that treats it that way. I'll work to fully fund and improve Missouri's 988 suicide & crisis lifeline and expand mobile crisis response teams, so people in crisis get help fast and we relieve pressure on police and ERs. I'll push to cut unnecessary red tape by reforming prior-authorization rules (for example, a "gold card" to exempt providers with high approval rates), so patients get timely care without needless delays. And I'll fight for plain-language medical billing, requiring hospitals and insurers to make bills simple and clear to prevent surprise charges and reduce confusion for patients.
- Public safety that works: Real public safety means safer neighborhoods and trust between the community and law enforcement. I'll support investing in fair, effective policing — hiring and retaining the best officers and ensuring they have the training and accountability to treat everyone equally under the law. We also need 911 mental health co-responder programs, pairing police with mental health professionals on certain emergency calls so people get the right help and officers can focus on violent crime. Finally, I'll push for bipartisan infrastructure upgrades — from fixing roads and bridges to improving street lighting and emergency communications — because better infrastructure prevents accidents and helps first responders keep us safe.
Although I was able to connect him to resources that day to address his immediate emergency, that call put a face on policy: no veteran or child should go hungry because Washington stops. In Jefferson City, I’ll push a SNAP “bridge” during federal lapses, automatic recertification for disabled veterans, and rapid coordination between DSS, the VA, and food banks—because leaving no one behind starts with dinner on the table. Legal. Safe. Fair.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
2022
Jewel Kelly, Jr. completedBallotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Kelly's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Our top priorities include the following: Lower the cost of healthcare including mental health. Stimulate the economy to create more jobs. Reduce the cost of education and student debt. Protect the environment and address climate change. Provide equal protection under the law.
As the eldest of 18 siblings, I thank God my mother had the choice, and made the choice to bring me and all of my siblings into the world.
My wife (Caren) and I live in rural Jefferson County, 30 miles south of St Louis, Missouri. Together, we became real estate agents, and grew our small business to help others live the American Dream. We are blessed with three daughters; Kacie, Camryn, and Courtney. Tragically, Camryn died by suicide in 2018. In 2019, seven compassionate souls joined Caren and I and started a non-profit organization called “A Fighting Chance Foundation”. Our foundation connects communities to local mental health resources and promotes Mental Health First Aid Classes.
- We need policies based on non-partisan standards. Is it legal? Is it safe? Is it fair? We believe the wealthiest country on earth can provide healthcare in a legal, safe, and fair way. How fair is universal healthcare? How safe is a Single Payer Healthcare system? How legal Is Medicare For All? This Is Us. We care about saving lives. We deserve our best. Why should we accept anything less?
- Change Comes When Budgets Change. Investing in our education is investing in our country. Investing in our country is Patriotism. Is it legal, is it safe, is it fair for us to bring down the cost of education? By reducing student debt, we can stimulate the economy, reduce the wealth gap, and create more jobs. We especially need more jobs now more than ever because 180,000 people still remain unemployed in our state. Isn't a smarter nation a stronger nation?
- We can no longer suffer in silence because of unfair and unsafe budget and tax cuts. America is only as strong as our weakest link. Is now the safe, or fair time to cut services which prevent homelessness and suicides? 488 veterans right here in MO experienced homelessness in Jan 2021. 192 Missouri veterans died by suicide in 2018. Imagine if we made Mental Health First Aid Classes available to everyone? We must make mental health a national priority.
In comparison, the Dept of Education's budget is less than 1/9 of Defense Spending. In 2019, Dept of Education Budget was cut 12% compared to 2018 budget. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) budget was cut $953 Million in 2019. HRSA is the primary federal agency for improving health care to people who are geographically isolated, economically or medically vulnerable.
Training and Employment Budget is 1% of Defense Spending. (Dept of Labor). In 2019, Training and Employment Budget was cut over 7% compared to 2018 Budget.
Protection: Take care of people so people can take care of protecting America.
Purpose: Simplify objectives, be responsible and accountable for people working together.
Prioritization: Go on offense to ensure the main effort gets the priorities of resources and time.
Predictability: Provide stability by living healthy, lawfully and fairly. Respect people always.
Presence: Stay engaged: Listen, learn, lift and lead.
Passion: Stand up for America. Be professional, positive and playful.
Preparation: Study before takeoff.
Policies and Procedure: Cut through the red tape.
Praise and Punishment: Give credit to others; criticize with humility.
Poise: Be the eye of the storm –calm, contained, and centered.
Perseverance: Combine the flexible application of resources with imagination and courage.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf.Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at theFEC website. Clickhere for more on federal campaign finance law andhere for more on state campaign finance law.
| Year | Office | Status | Contributions | Expenditures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | U.S. Senate Missouri | Lost primary | $13,872 | $13,872 |
| Grand total | $13,872 | $13,872 | ||
| Sources:OpenSecrets, Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). | ||||
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Candidate Missouri House of Representatives District 106 | Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on April 17, 2021
- ↑A Fighting Chance, “Home,” accessed April 19, 2021

