Secretary of State Matt Blunt has been talking with some Republican state lawmakers about his possible bid for the Governor’s office in 2004. Many Republican state senators have expressed support for a Blunt candidacy. Blunt stops short of making any formal announcement and he won’t give any timeline for such an announcement. Blunt says there are exciting things going on in the Secretary of State’s office and he is focusing on the job at hand. Several Republican senators told the Columbia Daily Tribune that Blunt had contacted them in recent weeks to ask for their support in a possible run for governor in 2004. Blunt has acknowledged previously that others have been urging him to run for governor. He met recently in Columbia with northeast Missouri Congressman Kenny Hulshof, another Republican whose name has surfaced during talks about who might run for governor. It is assumed any Republican would be challenging incumbent Democrat Bob Holden, though Holden has not formally announced his intentions to run for re-election. Blunt is 32 years old. He served in the Missouri House for one term before winning election as Secretary of State in 2000. Blunt was the only Republican to win a statewide office that year. He is the son of southwest Missouri Congressman Roy Blunt, the Majority Whip in the US House in Washington, D. C.
