J.D. McFarland is running for St. Louis County Executive as the Green Party's candidate in the Nov. 3, 2026 general election. He faces Democrat Jake Zimmerman and Republican Dennis Hancock.

McFarland ran unopposed in the Aug. 4 Green Party primary, winning with 241 votes, according to the GPUS Elections Database.

McFarland describes himself as a "cultural architect" who believes leadership is a responsibility, according to his response to the St. Louis Public Radio voter guide.

Candidate information

  • Party: Green
  • Residence: North St. Louis County, according to FOX 2

Experience and public service

McFarland said he founded a nonprofit organization for at-risk youth in 2012. He said he has volunteered or organized with the North St. Louis Arts Council, Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment, Jobs With Justice, SEIU, Better Family Life and the Gateway Green Alliance.

He has held party leadership roles as Green Party committeeman for St. Louis City's 9th Ward and as the city's representative to the Missouri Green Party, according to his candidate profile on the Green Party of the United States website.

McFarland has run for office three times before. He said he received 17% of the vote in a 2014 race for St. Louis City's 6th Ward alderman. He said he received more than 30,000 votes as a Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate in the Nov. 8, 2016 election. He also ran for mayor of St. Louis in 2017, according to The Ballot Brief.

On the issues

Regional priorities: McFarland said he wants to build a region that focuses on youth, health and learning, according to his response to the St. Louis Public Radio voter guide.

On his campaign website, McFarland said he has spent years studying how to strengthen the region through writing, research and community projects. He said he has spent over a decade designing a model of governance shaped by clarity, accountability and cultural health.

Candidate responses were drawn from McFarland's campaign website, his Green Party profile and the St. Louis Public Radio voter guide. No specific funding proposals, dollar figures or implementation timelines were available in his public responses.