Bob Onder

Personal life

Onder attended St. Louis University High School, graduating in 1980. Onder attended Washington University in St. Louis for his undergraduate degree, where he graduated summa cum laude with a degree in Economics. Onder subsequently graduated from Washington University School of Medicine, and is a physician specializing in allergy and asthma care. He later graduated from Saint Louis University School of Law. He and his wife Allison have six children. Onder has recently obtained his pilot’s license. He is Roman Catholic.

Political campaigns

Onder served a single term in the Missouri House of Representatives from 2007 to 2008, having been elected in 2006.

In 2008, Onder left the state legislature to run for the US House in Missouri's 9th congressional district, where incumbent Kenny Hulshof was not seeking re-election. Onder distinguished himself as one of the more fiscally conservative candidates, emphasizing his free-market voting record in the Missouri House and earning the endorsement of the Club for Growth. Onder ultimately lost the Republican primary election to Blaine Luetkemeyer.

In 2014, Onder ran for the Missouri Senate in the 2nd district, defeating Chuck Gatschenberger and Vicki Schneider in the Republican primary. No Democrats ran for the seat, so this primary victory was tantamount to election. Onder ran for reelection in 2018 and defeated his Democratic challenger to earn a second term.

In 2022, Onder announced his campaign for Saint Charles County Executive. He withdrew from the Republican primary on June 7, 2022.

In 2024, Onder ran for Lieutenant Governor of Missouri. He later withdrew from that race and announced his candidacy for Missouri's 3rd congressional district.

State legislature

Missouri House of Representatives

In 2008, Onder authored and sponsored HB 1549. The bill forbids the creation of sanctuary cities in Missouri, allows for cancellation of state contracts for contractors who hire people illegally present in the United States, and requires public agencies to verify the legal status of immigrants before providing social service benefits. Additionally the bill criminalized the transportation of immigrants for exploitative purposes. The bill passed the State House and Senate with strong support and was signed into law by Matt Blunt.

Onder also sponsored legislation that would have strengthened Missouri's informed consent before abortion statute, including requiring abortion clinics to allow pregnant women the opportunity to view an ultrasound of the fetus. The bill also would have criminalized coercing a woman to have an abortion through abuse, violence or threats. The bill passed the State House by a vote of 112-33 but died after a filibuster in the State Senate.

Missouri Senate

In his first year in the Senate, Onder was elected to Senate leadership as Assistant Majority Floor Leader. In 2017 he became the Chairman of the General Laws Committee. Additionally, he serves as Vice-Chairman of the Committee on Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence. In 2016, Onder attended the 2016 Republican National Convention after his selection as a Trump delegate as part of the Missouri delegation.

Onder was a founding member of the Missouri Senate's Conservative Caucus. The Conservative Caucus's top issues include regulatory reform, tort reform, health care reform, abortion, and gun rights.

Onder played a leading role in sponsoring SB 739 a bill that precluded Missourians from state contracts if they participate in boycotts against Israel. The bill mandates that public entities ensure that any company with which it enters into a contract includes a written confirmation they are not participating in such boycotts. The bill was subsequently signed into law by Governor Mike Parson.

In 2016, Onder introduced Senate Joint Resolution 39, a proposed amendment to the Missouri Constitution that would protect wedding industry businesses that refuse to serve LGBTQIA+ couples. This bill passed the Senate over a Democratic filibuster, but failed to make it out of committee in the House.

Onder was an outspoken supporter of HB 1562, a bill that expanded the crime of sex trafficking to include the advertisement of minors for prostitution or pornography.

Onder, who is anti-abortion, was the original author of legislation that requires annual, unannounced state inspections of healthcare clinics that provide reproductive healthcare; bars clinics from instructing ambulances to silence their sirens or turn their lights off; mandates that pathologists test fetal tissue; enacts whistleblower protections for employees of abortion clinics; and exempts pregnancy resource centers from a St. Louis ordinance barring discrimination over reproductive choices. Onder's bill received a few significant changes, such as changing the pathologist deadline from 24 hours to five days, and became Senate Bill 5, with a new sponsor in Senator Andrew Koenig. The bill was strengthened and passed by the Missouri House of Representatives, then passed by a vote of 22-9 in the Missouri Senate and signed by Governor Eric Greitens.

U.S. House of Representatives

Tenure

Onder has commented on investigations of the Jeffrey Epstein client list, saying that delays are indicative of influence used to escape justice. Onder has not committed to supporting the discharge petition or congressional measure to release the files.

Committee assignments

For the 119th Congress:

Committee on Education and Workforce

Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions

Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development

Committee on the Judiciary

Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government

Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement

Subcommittee on Oversight

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

Subcommittee on Aviation

Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management

Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment