Missouri’s Republican U.S. Senator will have competition in the 2016 race for senate. Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander has announced he will run for the Democratic nomination to challenge incumbent Roy Blunt.

Jason Kander

Jason Kander

Kander issued a statement stressing his military background and the backing of fellow Democratic statewide elected officials Senator Claire McCaskill, Governor Jay Nixon, Attorney General Chris Koster and Treasurer Clint Zweifel. Kander was elected in 2012 to the Secretary of State’s office after representing Kansas City in the state House. Prior to that he served eight years in the military including duty in Afghanistan and as an instructor in the Missouri Army National Guard’s Officer Candidate School at Fort Leonard Wood.

Kander takes his first shots in an announcement video, though without naming Blunt.

“Missouri has a senator who’s been in Washington for nearly 20 years and has been running for one political office or another for over 40 years. For too long, he’s been a part of the problem,” Kander said.

The Missouri Republican Party responded to Kander’s announcement tying him to the agenda of President Obama and calling him “out of touch and short on experience.”