Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, Jason Smith Cruises to Easy Win in Mo-8 Special Election June 4, 2013

Congressman-elect Jason Smith

Missouri House Pro tem Jason Smith won an easy victory Tuesday in a special election in southeast Missouri for the Mo-8 seat to Congress.
Smith had been expected to win in a heavily Republican district.
“I don’t come from a family of a lot, but we’ve learned a lot of lessons,” Smith said, according to PoliticMO. “This is too good – a country boy from Dent County is going to Washington.”
The 32-year old Republican’s landslide makes him the overwhelming favorite for a full term on his own in 2014.
Some members of the Missouri GOP were watching the point spread in the race closely for signs of vulnerability by Smith.
A tight race in the special election could trigger a Republican primary next summer when the seat is up for election again in the 2014 mid term elections.
Smith replaces long-time southeast Missouri Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson. After easily winning another term in 2012, Emerson suddenly announced she was leaving Congress to become a a lobbyist shortly after Congress convened in January.
Jo Ann Emerson was elected to Congress after the death of her husband, former Representative Bill Emerson, who also held the southeast Missouri seat to Washington for years.
Smith was nominated by Mo-8 Republicans leaders over a crowded field of more experienced southeast Missouri politicians including current Missouri Lt. Governor Peter Kinder.
Smith will be a more conservative Member of Congress than Emerson, who was in the GOP’s moderate wing.
Smith is a hawk on the federal budget and had the backing in the special election from conservatives like Sarah Palin and former Presidential candidate Rick Santorum, who won the 2012 Missouri presidential primary.
Smith told PoliticMO he would fly to Washington on Wednesday to be sworn in by House Speaker John Boehner.
8th District
100.0% Reporting
J. Smith GOP 67.3% 42,145
S. Hodges Dem 27.5% 17,203
D. Enyart CST 3.6% 2,265
B. Slantz Lib 1.5% 968

SE Missourian: Candidates Clash on Obamacare at Mo-8 Congressional Debate May 29, 2013

Southeast Missourian:
Tuesday night’s debate among four candidates seeking to replace a longtime Republican congresswoman in next week’s special election was an opportunity for them to weigh in on a plethora of issues. But for the two major party contenders it did something more — it gave them a chance to bring up several points of contention their campaigns have pushed for weeks.
Democrat Steve Hodges, a state representative from East Prairie, Mo., seeking the 8th Congressional District seat, went on the offensive against his Republican opponent, Jason Smith, early in the event with an answer to a question about the future of Social Security.
Hodges last week released a video advertisement touting his support for keeping Social Security and Medicare benefits available under a federal budget plan.
During the 90-minute forum at Southeast Missouri State University’s River Campus, Hodges said Smith, if elected, would vote for a federal budget that would reduce Social Security.
“Both my parents are on Social Security,” Smith responded to Hodges’ accusation, adding he would be excluded from his family’s Thanksgiving dinner for such a vote.
Smith, of Salem, Mo., has been in the Missouri House of Representatives since 2005, and is speaker pro tem, the chamber’s second-highest leadership position.
Both candidates, along with Doug Enyart, a Constitution Party candidate, and Bill Slantz, a Libertarian, are vying for the seat held for more than 16 years by Jo Ann Emerson, who resigned in January to head the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. All were nominated in February by their respective parties’ congressional committees and are running on conservative platforms.
The special election is June 4.
More: http://www.semissourian.com/story/1973190.html

Jason Smith Wins MO-8 GOP Nod for Congress February 9, 2013

32 year old State Representative Jason Smith has been nominated by Missouri 8th District (Mo-8)Republicans to be their next Congressman.
Smith outlasted nine other candidates during multiple-round ballot by GOP Mo-8 Committee members during a meeting in Van Buren, Missouri that lasted more than three hours.
“This is a lot for a country boy from Denton County,” Tweeted PoliticMo’s Eli Yokey.
Smith secured the needed 50 votes after five rounds of balloting. Among the people he defeated; Lt. governor Peter Kinder and former Missouri GOP Executive Director Lloyd Smith.
There was a 6th ceremonial unanimous vote for Smith.
Smith was once the Chief of Staff for former Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson. He was considered the early front runner
Emerson announced her intention to resign shortly after being re-elected last November. She took a job as lobbyist.
During his brief campaign speech to the GOP Committee people, Smith promised to bring fresh,new, conservative ideas to Congress if he is elected.
Smith becomes the heavy favorite now to follow Emerson to Congress in this very Republican district covering southeast Missouri..
Smith has enjoyed a dramatic rise in Missouri politics. He was first elected to the Missouri House in. Special election in 2005.
He is currently the Speaker Pro Tem of the House
In less than 10 years after entering state politics, Smith could be on the verge of becoming a US Congressman. He could have the Mo-8 seat for years, perhaps decades, if he chooses.
The Special election to select Emerson’s replacement is set for June 2.

Missouri House tries to Straighten Out Presidential Primary as It Passes 1st Bill, With “Kinder Clause” January 24, 2013

Kinder

The Missouri House has passed an elections bill aimed at straightening out the confusing process surrounding the Missouri Presidential primary system.
The Associated Press reports the plan, to move the state’s Presidential primary back from February into March, is aimed at making the state more relevant in the 2016 nominating contest.
The February/March Missouri 2012 primary and caucuses were confusing and unsatisfactory to many participants, especially in the then-contested GOP primary campaign
“The national Republican Party had warned that states holding their contests too early would lose half their delegates to the party’s national convention – a penalty intended to avoid a scramble among states to be near the front of the presidential nominating line. Missouri lawmakers sought to comply and delay the primary, but a bill that included the change was vetoed by Nixon for unrelated reasons. A second effort then bogged down during a contentious 2011 special legislative session.
Seeking to avoid the penalties, the Missouri Republican Central Committee opted to make the primary nonbinding and instead hold spring caucuses to allot delegates. However, state law still required the primary to be held. The nonbinding primary attracted few voters and was won by former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.
The report says The election legislation, approved 115-45, was the first bill passed by a House chamber that now is controlled by a Republican supermajority. The bill now goes to the state Senate, where Republicans also hold a two-thirds majority.
The main thrust of the measure, however, does not deal with the state’s primary system.
Instead, it focuses on the gubernatorial powers to replace a member of the Executive Branch. It is being driven by the potential that GOP Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder could be selected as the Republican nominee for the southeast Missouri (Mo-8) Congressional seat. Jo Ann Emerson retired earlier this week to become a lobbyist.
Under the bill, the governor could appoint an acting officeholder to fill a midterm vacancy as lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer, auditor or U.S. senator. The office then would appear on the statewide ballot during the next general election. Supporters said the bill would prohibit the acting officeholder from immediately running for that position to mitigate the advantages of incumbency.
Missouri law currently allows the governor to appoint a replacement as secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer, auditor or U.S. senator. But there has been uncertainty about how to fill an opening for lieutenant governor. Clarifying that process has gained new importance with newly re-elected Republican Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder among the candidates competing for the GOP nomination to replace U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, who resigned from Congress on Tuesday.
If Kinder wins the southeastern Missouri congressional seat, Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon has claimed the authority to appoint a replacement while citing history. House Speaker Tim Jones has said he believes a special election is required. Senate President Pro Tem Tom Dempsey has called the situation “unclear” but says he does not believe the governor can appoint the lieutenant governor.
The elections legislation is sponsored by Rep. Jason Smith, who also is seeking Emerson’s seat in Congress. Smith, R-Salem, has sponsored similar legislation previously and said that requiring the election of statewide officials would “give the power back to the people of Missouri.”