This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Oct. 24, 2011 - House Speaker Pro Tem Shane Schoeller formally launched today his expected bid for secretary of state, making him the third Republican -- but the first from southwest Missouri -- to seek the office in 2012.
Schoeller, R-Willard, revamped his website and changed the name of his Facebook page to reflect his statewide run a few hours before his scheduled 12:30 p.m. press conference today at the Greene County Court House in Springfield, Mo.
Schoeller said in an interview that he made the decision to jump into the contest before incumbent Robin Carnahan decided not to run for a third term. But he acknowledged that her Sept. 30 announcement sped up his decision-making.
He said his campaign will focus on improving election services and business registration, two major functions of the office.
"When you think about elections, you want to make sure you have fairness," Schoeller said. "When you think about business services, you want to make sure you want to continue to promote the idea of free enterprise -- which is so important to our state and our economy."
Schoeller supports a statewide requirement that voters show a government-issued photo ID, which Carnahan has strenuously opposed and which the state Supreme Court tossed out as unconstitutional.
"What I want to do is make sure that when somebody goes to the ballot box and they cast their ballot that they're the only one casting their ballot on behalf of their name and that someone else isn't trying to steal their identity and vote on behalf [of them] in another precinct or another county," Schoeller said.
Carnahan and others, including Gov. Jay Nixon, contend that limiting the types of identification that voters can use will disenfranchise the elderly, disabled, and minority voters -- as well as college students -- who are less likely to have a drivers license or passport, the two prime forms of government-issued identification.
A proposal to change the state constitution to allow such a requirement also is set to be on the November 2012 ballot.
Schoeller said he'd also like to reduce conflicts when drafting ballot summary language. Carnahan's office has dealt with lawsuits from both proponents and opponents of certain initiatives over language of the ballot summaries. The summaries particularly raised the ire of Republican lawmakers, who even have proposed changing the manner in which they're drafted.
"The first important thing when you think about ballot language ... is who you elect," Schoeller said. "I've developed a reputation in the Missouri legislature as someone who is fair. People know me as a conservative legislator, but at the same time I will be fair and work with people on the issues they bring forward."
"At the same time, there are some different ideas out there," Schoeller added, referring to proposals to alter the way summaries are drafted. "We haven't endorsed anything at this point. But certainly we want to look and see is there a way the process can be a little bit more open and [provide] a little bit more opportunity for folks to have input into the process."
Schoeller's emailed announcement used more combative language, in particular jabbing at Carnahan's two terms.
"For too long, the important office of Secretary of State has been beholden to liberal special interests who have abused the duties of the office," Schoeller asserted. "As Secretary of State, I will end the open-door policies for liberal groups like ACORN, fight to stop election fraud, work to ease the government burden on businesses, and protect Missouri voters by working to implement a commonsense photo identification requirement for voting."
Schoeller worked for the secretary of state's office when Republican Matt Blunt held the office. And he said that will be one way to distinguish himself between his two opponents in a GOP primary -- state Sens. Scott Rupp, R-Wentzville and Bill Stouffer, R-Napton.
"I've had experience in the office," Schoeller said. "I hail from southwest Missouri, which as you know is a conservative base of voters and I have good relationships with folks across southwest Missouri. And third... I've traveled the state many times, so I know the different areas. It's important when you run for statewide office that you understand the different areas and the demographics of Missouri voters and be able to identify what things you're going to bring to the different regions of Missouri."
So far, only one Democrat, state Rep. Jason Kander, D-Kansas City, has announced a bid for the post.
Kander, who has been working hard to solidify his Democratic support -- and discourage internal rivals -- issued a statement this afternoon welcoming Schoeller's entry.
"I'm running to be Missouri's next Secretary of State because I believe we need to focus on ensuring well-run elections, making it easier to start a business, and protecting our seniors and their investments," Kander said. "Over the past few weeks I've been traveling across the state talking to Missourians about these issues. I welcome Rep. Schoeller and the other Republican candidates to the race and look forward to comparing our visions for the office."
Jason Rosenbaum, a freelance journalist in St. Louis, covers state government and politics.
