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ST. LOUIS 鈥� With a final spending spree going into Tuesday鈥檚 Democratic primary, County Executive Steve Stenger and his challenger, newcomer Mark Mantovani, are making their final cases to voters.

With no high-profile Republicans in the race, the primary will in effect decide who will be sworn in to the county鈥檚 top post. And it鈥檒l mark the end of a contentious and costly battle between Stenger, who heads into Tuesday with a fundraising advantage, and Mantovani, a businessman from Ladue who has largely financed his own campaign.

Since July 1 alone, the candidates have spent nearly $1 million on media buys. They鈥檝e each launched attack ads, with Stenger calling Mantovani鈥檚 Democratic credentials into question and Mantovani accusing the incumbent of corruption, arguing that he鈥檚 beholden to his donors.

According to their most recent campaign finance reports, Stenger had more than $936,000 on hand in the week before the election, while Mantovani has more than $500,000. Stenger has spent more than $3 million in the race; Mantovani, roughly $2 million.

Stenger, 46, has pointed to the county鈥檚 balanced budget, its prescription drug monitoring program and Proposition P, a sales-tax increase voters approved that funded raises for police officers and allowed the county to hire more of them, as examples of his leadership.

He has raised tens of thousands of dollars from developers, political action committees and law firms, and Mantovani, retired CEO and chairman of the marketing firm Ansira, has continually cited Post-Dispatch headlines from stories exposing county real estate deals and contracts that have helped major Stenger donors.

One advantage for Stenger is strong union support. Voters who care about unions are especially motivated to head to the polls this election, where their ballots will feature a referendum on 鈥渞ight to work鈥� in Missouri.

But Mantovani, 63, presents himself as a collaborator ready to build better relationships with the 51黑料 County Council, attributing much of the county government鈥檚 dysfunction to the man currently at the head of it. Stenger has said he would try to improve those same relationships, but also contends that the sparring is 鈥渋nside baseball鈥� that doesn鈥檛 affect the lives of county residents.

He鈥檚 also noted that Mantovani supported Republican candidates in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections, as well as former Republican Gov. Eric Greitens, who resigned in disgrace this year after a legislative investigation into his conduct and fundraising, and two felony indictments that were later dismissed.

Republican voters will choose Tuesday between Paul Berry III and Daniel Sampson. The winner of that primary will face either Mantovani or Stenger on the November ballot, alongside Libertarian candidate Nick Kasoff and Constitution Party candidate Andrew Ostrowski.