And They All Rolled Over!: Roy Blunt Would be "the Leading Candidate" to Replace Retiring Sen. Kit Bond in 2010, Says His Son, Outgoing Gov Matt Blunt

Excerpts from this morning's Springfield News Leader:

Jefferson City -- U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt would be "the leading candidate" to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Kit Bond in 2010, his son, outgoing Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt, told the News-Leader Thursday.

"I think he makes a lot of sense in a lot of different ways," Matt Blunt said in a telephone interview.

But there might be some other prominent Republicans who would take issue with the governor's comments. ...

Blunt said he had a brief conversation with his father about Bond's surprise announcement on Thursday, but had "no real strategic discussion or anything in the nature."

Roy Blunt has not made any comments to the media about his intentions, but issued a statement Thursday praising Bond for his nearly 40 years of public service.

"After almost four decades of service, the contributions Kit made are interwoven in the history of Missouri and our nation," Congressman Roy Blunt said in a statement. ...

Roy Blunt was elected to Congress in 1996 to represent Missouri's 7th District. In that time, he's served in House GOP leadership. Prior to that, he was Missouri Secretary of State, president of Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar and Greene County clerk. He lost a race for Republican primary for governor in 1992, so he has experience running statewide. ...

Matt Blunt, the outgoing Republican governor, said he was encouraged by some supporters to seek Bond's seat, but has decided to "try my hand at something else" other than politics.

"I'm really excited about some business opportunities that I'm about to launch off into," Blunt said.

Upon leaving office Monday, Matt Blunt will become senior advisor to a Boston-based private equity firm co-founded by the eldest son of former Massachusetts governor and presidential candidate Mitt Romney. ...

[Although a gubernatorial spokesman said Tuesday, December 31, 2008 that "... Blunt plans to continue living with his family in Springfield after leaving office. Blunt spokesman Rich Chrismer said it’s possible that Blunt will pursue other job opportunities as well." (see mid-article here.) ]

Craig Hosmer, chairman of the Missouri Democratic Party, said in a statement that Democrats are encouraging Secretary of State Robin Carnahan to run.

"Robin Carnahan spoke to the Governor-elect this morning," Hosmer said. "Robin would be a strong candidate and a great Senator and Democrats across the state hope she'll run."

Another Democratic source close to Carnahan says she is almost certain to enter the race.

As the daughter of the late Gov. Mel Carnahan [a former Southwest Baptist University Trustee] and former U.S. Sen. Jean Carnahan, her name recognition is as good as anybody's, political observers say.

When it comes to Missouri politics, the only name as well known as Carnahan is, of course, Blunt. ...

Remainder of article (here).