This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Feb 4, 2011 - U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Tarkio, officially took himself out of the running today as a potential candidate for the U.S. Senate -- a move that stunned some Republican insiders who saw Graves as potentially the strongest GOP contender to challenge Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., in 2012.
Just hours later, U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, announced she's now closer to jumping in.
Graves, 47, said in a statement that he decided that he wanted to remain in the U.S. House, where he has just become the new chairman of the House Small Business Committee.
"...It was an agonizing decision for me, determining the best way for me to serve and my ability to get there," the congressman said. "I believe it is a winnable race for me. However, I also believe that I can have a greater impact on federal policy in the next six years as a chairman in the House. I am the first chairman in the history of the Sixth Congressional District and there is much I still want to accomplish in Washington...."
In an unusual move, Graves' announcement included a statement from U.S. House Speaker John Boehner praising the congressman's decision to stay put. "I am glad Sam has decided to continue his service in the House,'' the speaker said. "His leadership as the Chairman of the Small Business Committee will help put the right policies in place to encourage entrepreneurs and innovators to create new jobs."
Less that a week ago, Graves' political operation had circulated a statewide poll that put him within a few percentage points of McCaskill.
Sources say Graves didn't make up his mind against running until the last 48 hours. His district is strongly Republican and is believed to remain so, even with redistricting.
Graves had been considered a likely contender after former Sen. Jim Talent, R-Mo., announced a week ago that he had decided against making a new bid for his old job, which he lost to McCaskill in 2006.
Graves' decision is expected to prompt party leaders to put more pressure on Emerson and veteran GOP activist Ann Wagner of St. Louis. Both were rumored to be waiting for Graves' decision before declaring their own intentions.
And sure enough, by this evening, Emerson issued her first public statement confirming her interest. She said she was "giving serious thought to a potential run for U.S. Senate in 2012 after being approached by Missourians from all over the state."
"The 2012 Senate race is going to focus on how we create more jobs and opportunity in Missouri while limiting the size and scope of the federal government," said Emerson. "It will be a referendum in the U.S. Senate in the same way the 2010 elections were a referendum in the U.S. House of Representatives. I've been asked to give it serious consideration, and I am. I'm thinking about how I can best continue to serve Missouri and the people of our state," Emerson said.
Emerson, 60, won re-election last fall in southeast Missouri's 8th District by a two-to-one ratio, despite a spirited campaign by her Democratic rival, military veteran Tommy Sowers. More recently, Emerson has attracted attention by co-chairing a group of GOP congressional moderates known as the "Tuesday Group,'' and becoming a leader of a similar bipartisan group called the "Center Aisle Coalition."
Two Republicans already have declared bids: former state Treasurer Sarah Steelman and St. Louis lawyer/GOP activist Ed Martin. But Steelman has a strained relationship with many party leaders, while Martin is seen as having limited name recognition because he has never run statewide.
Graves indicated that he plans to be a player in influencing his party's eventual choice to take on McCaskill. "It is important to me that Republicans nominate the best possible candidate in 2012,'' the congressman said. "For that reason, I intend to let the field fully form before I issue any endorsement. Control of the Senate will be up for grabs and Missourians must do our part."
Graves' action is reminscent of the decision 25 years ago by another prominent congressman -- then-U.S. Rep. Richard A. Gephardt, D-St. Louis -- to forgo a Senate bid.
Gephardt had been under pressure to run for the seat to be vacated in 1986 by retiring Sen. Thomas F. Eagleton, D-Mo. Then-Lt. Gov. Harriett Woods ended up winning the party's nomination in a spirited primary, but lost to Republican Christopher "Kit" Bond, a former governor.
Meanwhile, Gephardt rose swiftly up the House leadership ladder, becoming majority and minority leader -- but never speaker. He made two unsuccessful bids for president, in 1988 and 2004.
