This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Sept. 22, 2011 - WASHINGTON - Less than nine months after moving across the Capitol from the House to the Senate, U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., is considering a run for a Senate Republican leadership post.
As part of the domino effect started by upcoming vacancies, Blunt's office confirmed Thursday that he is "taking a look" at the position of vice chairman of the GOP conference, which would give him a voice in the Senate's Republican leadership.
"Sen. Blunt is considering how he can best contribute to next year's debate regarding who we are going to be as a country," said Blunt's spokeswoman, Amber Marchand. "He has received a lot of encouragement from his colleagues in the Senate and is taking a look at the conference vice chair race."
One reason that Blunt is being encouraged by some colleagues to run for the position -- which will open in January -- is that the only announced candidate so far, freshman Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., had no previous legislative experience and won election with strong tea party backing.
Considered to be a more establishment Republican, Blunt rose to high GOP leadership positions during his 14 years in the U.S. House, elected as the Republican whip and, briefly, as the acting minority leader. On the day he was sworn into the Senate in January, Blunt became a member of the GOP whip team in the Senate, helping to line up votes.
The GOP conference vice-chair vacancy results from the announcement by the current Republican conference chair, Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., that he would step down from the GOP's Senate leadership in January. As part of the domino effect, the GOP policy committee chair, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., plans to run for Alexander's position, and the current GOP conference vice chair, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., has said he is likely to run for Thune's current post.
Those musical chairs are sometimes filled in backroom deals well before the official GOP Senate votes in January, so it seems likely that Blunt's non-announcement is a way for him to gauge his potential support for a leadership position.
In announcing this week that he would leave the No. 3 GOP Senate leadership position, Alexander said he was "giving up my seat at the [leadership] table in exchange for some more independence" to vote as he pleases, without having to toe the party line.
However, Senate observers said Alexander was also facing the reality that he would be unlikely to beat Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in the race to succeed retiring Sen. John Kyl, R-Ariz., for the No. 2 Senate Republican leadership job, GOP whip. The current GOP leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., appears likely to keep his post.
Blunt has backed mainstream GOP Senate positions on most issues this year -- with a major exception being last week's Senate vote on disaster aid. He has been taking a higher profile in recent months.
Earlier this week, GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney announced that Blunt would help spearhead his efforts to gain support among Republicans on Capitol Hill.
Senate Gop Vice-chairs
- Milton R. Young (N.D.) 1946-1971
- Norris Cotton (N.H.) 1971-1972
- Wallace F. Bennett (Utah) 1973-1974
- Robert T. Stafford (Vt.) 1976-1976
- Clifford P. Hansen (Wyo.) 1977-1978
- E.J. "Jake" Garn Utah 1979-1985
- William Thad Cochran (Miss.) 1985-1991
- Robert W. Kasten, Jr. (Wisc.) 1991-1993
- Trent Lott (Miss.) 1993-1995
- Connie Mack (Fla.) 1995-1997
- Paul Coverdell (Ga.) 1997-2000
- Kay Bailey Hutchison Texas 2001-2007
- John Cornyn Texas 2007-2009
- John Thune (S.D.) 2009
- Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) 2009-2010
- John Barrasso (Wyo.) 2010-Present