Chris McDaniel

St. Louis Aldermanic President Lewis Reed has had numerous challenges in his quest to upset Mayor Francis Slay in the Democratic Primary: a fundraising mismatch, switching campaign managers in the middle of the race, and a third candidate that has tried to steal his thunder, to name a few.

But in spite of this, many believe Reed is Slay’s most formidable challenger in years.

If incumbent mayor Francis Slay wins the Democratic primary tomorrow and then goes on to win re-election in April, he will become the longest serving mayor in St. Louis history.

Serving over 12 years in the office, Slay believes there are many reasons he deserves an unprecedented fourth four-year term.

On Tuesday, St. Louis voters will go to the polls to select their nominee for mayor. But in the Democratic mayoral primary, former Alderman Jimmie Matthews sometimes seems the odd man out. Unlike his two opponents -- incumbent Mayor Francis Slay and Board of Alderman President Lewis Reed -- he hasn't solicited any campaign donations, and he hasn't spent much money on the race either. That's led some to speculate that he isn't a serious candidate, that he's only in the race to take votes from Reed.

But from Matthews' perspective, there's no difference between Slay and Reed.

Chart updated at 2:24 to reflect most recent 24 and 48 hour campaign filings.

A week out from the Democratic mayoral primary, incumbent Mayor Francis Slay is maintaining his large financial advantage over challenger and Board of Alderman President Lewis Reed.

According to campaign finance reports filed Monday evening, in a month long span from Jan. 20 to Feb. 21, Slay spent $479,291. During that same amount of time, Reed spent only a fraction of that at $88,470.