Roy Blunt: Missouri Republican leadership of Senate announces he will not stand for re-election

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“After 14 general election victories – three in the county office, seven in the United States House of Representatives and four statewide elections – I will not be running for re-election to the United States Senate in the year. next, ”Blunt announced in a video message.

The unexpected announcement marks the latest move not to seek re-election of a pragmatic GOP senator ready to cross the aisle into the post-Trump era as the Republican Party grapples with its future.

Even without an incumbent Republican, the seat is unlikely to be competitive for Democrats. While Blunt beat Democrat Jason Kander in 2016 by less than 3 percentage points, Missouri is an increasingly Republican state. Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill lost almost 6 percentage points in 2018 and Trump won around 57% of the vote in the Show-Me State in 2020.

Blunt, a close ally of Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, has a long history of Congressional service and a deep understanding of the institution.

He is currently the Senior Senator from Missouri and was elected to the Senate in 2010.

Blunt plays a leadership role as chairman of the Senate Republican Political Committee and is the rank Republican member of the Senate Rules Committee, a position that gives him a great deal of power and influence behind the scenes over the inner workings of bedroom.

As the top Republican on the Rules Committee, Blunt worked with his Democratic counterpart, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, to reform the way Congress deals with issues of sexual harassment among its own employees.

While Blunt’s colleague in Missouri, Senator Josh Hawley, was one of the more outspoken senators in objecting to the tallying of some electoral votes, Blunt did not join the effort and played a role. key in the official transition of power as one of the scrutineers who read the elections. Voting certificates on January 6 and as Chairman of the Congressional Joint Committee on inaugural ceremonies.

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He also served as a leader in the House of Representatives.

“The people of southwest Missouri have overwhelmingly elected Senator Blunt seven times to the United States House of Representatives. Senator Blunt won a majority earlier in his career than any congressman in eight decades, and he was elected to the Senate leadership in his first year in the Senate, ”according to the biography on his site Senate Web.

In his video post, Blunt said, “In every job the Missourians have allowed me to do, I have tried to do my best. In almost 12,000 votes in Congress, I’m sure I wasn’t right every time, but you’re really making this decision based on the information you have at the time. ”

This story was updated with additional developments on Monday.

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