Former Gov. and U.S. Sen. Kit Bond, giant of the Missouri Republican Party, dies at 86

Former Missouri Gov. and U.S. Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond, one of the most influential state Republicans of the modern era, died Tuesday. He was 86.

U.S. Senate Historical Office

Gov. Mike Kehoe announced Bond’s death, calling him “a skilled statesman, public servant, and a man who truly loved Missouri.”

“I am blessed to have known Kit and honored to call him a friend and a mentor,” Kehoe said.

A native of Mexico, Missouri, Bond served as state auditor, governor in two nonconsecutive terms and in the U.S. Senate for four terms. He retired in 2011, telling members of the Missouri House at the time that he came into state government as the youngest governor and didn’t want to leave as the oldest senator.

As he explained during a 2015 episode of Politically Speaking, Bond’s family had deep connections to Missouri politics. His great-great-great-great-grandfather, Joseph Bogy, represented Ste. Genevieve in the Missouri legislature in the 1800s. His grandfather, Sam Bond, lost a bitter congressional contest.

“And my grandmother wanted Dad to stay out of politics, so he stayed out of politics,” Bond said. “But his interest never waned. So I talked politics, studied politics, tried practicing law for a while.”

Bond’s maternal grandfather, A.P. Green, was the founder of  A.P. Green Industries, which manufactured fire bricks and was a major employer in Mexico, Missouri for decades. The family became a major influence in the region, building a stately mansion.

Bond, a graduate of Princeton University, was first in his class at the University of Virginia Law School. He worked as a law clerk for Judge Elbert Tuttle – then Chief Judge on the U.S. 5th District Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Georgia – who played a major role in expanding civil rights throughout the southern United States. 

After three years of working in Washington, D.C., he unsuccessfully challenged U.S. Rep. Bill Hungate. At the time, many of Missouri’s key officeholders were Democrats. Bond’s narrow loss to Hungate was noted by both parties.

But Bond bounced back two years later and became state auditor. In 1972, he became the first Republican to win the governorship since 1940. Still, that race wasn’t entirely smooth, as his rival accused him of not meeting the residency requirement to hold the office.

The Missouri Supreme Court ruled 5-2 in his favor, and Bond said that he “was, and has been … a Missourian.”

In some respects, Bond was considered a moderate during his first term as governor. He supported overhauling campaign finance regulations and was in favor of the Equal Rights Amendment.

Bond said his main focus during his first term was reorganizing state government, but added he “goofed up” by being too distracted by other pursuits – such as trying to get Bill Phelps elected lieutenant governor.

In 1976, Bond shocked many in the state by losing reelection to Jackson County Prosecutor Joe Teasdale, a Democrat who attracted attention by walking across the state.  Bond later blamed his defeat largely on Democrat Jimmy Carter’s success in carrying the state – and winning the White House. 

“The people who were supposedly helping me run my campaign were running [then-GOP President] Gerald Ford's campaign,” Bond said. “They told Ford to move the St. Louis airport to Columbia, Illinois. And so, at the end of the campaign, [critics said] ‘Bond’s got Missouri on the move to Illinois.’ And they didn't think I was in trouble. I saw I was in trouble, but I couldn’t respond.”

Four years later though, Bond won the governorship back, defeating Phelps in the GOP primary and Teasdale in the fall. Bond said he worked fairly cohesively with the legislature, which at the time contained overwhelming Democratic majorities.

“You sit down, talk with them, you listen to them,” Bond said. “That's what I've done throughout my career. I went around, sat in their offices, had them over to the mansion, went out and drank beer with them after the session. And that’s when we got a lot of work done.”

During his second term, Bond was seen as more conservative, and made an effort to work with Republican President Ronald Reagan. But Bond also continued his focus on improving public education, helping to create the Parents As Teachers program in Missouri.

Bond and his then-wife, Carolyn, also renovated the governor’s mansion, which had fallen into disrepair. The couple gave birth to their only child, Sam, shortly after the 1980 election.

Bond was term-limited out of the governorship in 1984. But he made a political comeback in 1986 when he won a hotly contested race against Lt. Gov. Harriett Woods to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Tom Eagleton.

He attributed that win to “a great statewide organization we call the Bond Organization, or the Bond Brigade.”

“Some people accused us of having a machine, and I'd like to think we were guilty of that," Bond said. “But I was a couple points behind in the polls on that weekend before, but agreed with my advisers that our Bond Organization would turn out the votes.”

“It was a cliffhanger,” he added.

Some observers said Bond moved to the right during his tenure in the U.S. Senate. During George W. Bush’s administration, Bond backed the GOP chief executive’s tax cut proposals.

“I don't think I changed,” Bond said. “I listened to the people of Missouri and tried to do what was right. The split between Democrats and Republicans is far more pronounced in Washington than in Jefferson City. In Jefferson City, I felt I was part of the mainstream, and certainly in Washington, I was more mainstream than right wing because I did a whole lot of things that certainly wouldn't be considered conservative.”

Bond was a defender of Bush’s decision to invade Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, as well as the invasion of Iraq in 2003. His son, Samuel Bond, served as a Marine during the Iraq War.

“It was really draining to send people into battle. And then when Sam went in, I sucked it up,” Bond said. “But I found out what other family members experienced, because our clock radio would go off at 6 in the morning and Washington [news] would start off 'three Marines killed in Iraq today.' I’d sit up straight in bed. And that's what other families of servicemen and servicewomen face.”

As a senator, Bond became known for securing money for Missouri and was a consistent defender of the earmarking process, in which lawmakers direct federal money to specific projects throughout their districts or states.

He also worked with Missouri developers on expanding the availability of housing throughout the state. And he played a major role in expanding the Parents as Teachers program statewide.

He said getting rid of earmarks was “one of the stupidest ideas that came out of the Republicans in the House,” primarily because it transferred too much power to the executive branch.

“I saw too many instances where the bureaucrats in Washington didn't know what the problems were in Missouri,” Bond said. “So I fought hard.”

After Bond retired in 2011, he joined the Thompson Coburn law firm. He also started Kit Bond Strategies, a lobbying firm that now includes former legislators like Missouri Congressman Kenny Hulshof and Illinois Congressman John Shimkus.

Bond and his first wife, Carolyn, divorced in 1995. Also in the 1990s, Bond was embroiled in a high-profile legal fight with his financial advisor, who was accused of stealing from Bond’s trust fund tied to the Green family.

Bond married his current wife, Linda, in 2002.

Bond’s death prompted Missouri Republicans to recall his influence on the state’s politics and policy.

U.S. Rep. Ann Wagner of Ballwin, for instance, said in a statement that “few people in Missouri politics have had more of a positive influence on our state and the nation than Senator Kit Bond.”  

“A true statesman seemingly from a bygone era in today’s divisive world, Kit Bond devoted his life to public service, working with others to find the best ways to lift up Missouri and the nation, to make it a better place for those he was so honored to serve,” Wagner said.

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Missouri, said Bond “helped to improve the lives of generations of Missourians across the Show Me State.” And Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley added: “He served his state and his nation with the utmost distinction for decades - and he was above all a fine man.”

Democratic Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, D-Kansas City, said Bond “was a superb statesman, an exemplary public servant, and a dear friend to myself and Missourians across the Show Me State.”

Former U.S. Sen. John Danforth played a major role with Bond in making the Missouri Republican Party relevant after several decades of setbacks. He said in a statement that Bond “was one of the most consequential people in the history of our state.” 

“At each level of his career, he knew the responsibilities of the job he was elected to do, and he did that job very well,” Danforth said. “As a U.S. Senator, he focused on results for Missouri. From highways and bridges to Parents as Teachers, his contributions are tangible. But, even more important, his high standard of diligent service is a permanent model for public officials to follow.”

Former state Rep. Steve Hobbs grew up in Mexico and remembers Bond going quail hunting with his father. He also helped Hobbs, who is now the executive director of the Missouri Association of Counties, get elected to the Missouri House in 2002.

Hobbs said Bond was highly motivated to help bring traditionally Democratic northeast Missouri into the GOP fold. And he added that he went out of his way to keep in touch with Missourians. He pointed to a time when he drove Bond home from an event and people assumed they had a conversation during the drive.

“If we were coming back from a fundraiser, he sat in the back seat and wrote thank you notes all the way home from little notes he'd taken,” Hobbs said. “I mean, we didn't carry on a conversation. He was working.”

Beyond bringing back federal money to the state, Hobbs said Bond’s greatest legacy was telling people around him to work with people to bridge philosophical or partisan divisions.

“[He said] don't burn bridges, because your enemy today might be your friend tomorrow,” Hobbs said. “And he practiced that.” 

Bond is survived by his wife, Linda Bond, his son, Sam, and several grandchildren. Funeral arrangements are pending.

This story has been updated with officials' reaction