Biography:

Roy Blunt was born in Niangua, Mo., and resides in Strafford. He received a bachelor's degree in history from Southwest Baptist University in 1970 and a master's degree in history from Southwest Missouri State in 1972.Blunt's father, Leroy, was a Republican member of the Missouri House from 1979 to 1986.

Blunt was a high school teacher, then served as Green County Clerk from 1973 to 1985. He was elected secretary of state in 1984 at age 34 and served two terms before losing a race for Missouri governor in 1992.

He served for three years as president of Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Mo., then resigned to run for the seat held by retiring GOP Rep. Mel Hancock in 1996. He was re-elected in 1998, 2000 and 2002.

Blunt married lobbyist Abigail Perlman in 2003. It was his second marriage and her first. Blunt had three children with his first wife, Roseann, His son Matt is Missouri secretary of state and is running for governor. His son Andy is an attorney and a lobbyist in Jefferson City, Mo., and his daughter, Amy, is an attorney in Kansas City. Blunt has two grandsons; both were born in 2003.

Past Campaigns:

Roy Blunt, then age 23, won a race for Greene County clerk in 1973. He was elected secretary of state in 1984 and re-elected in 1988.

In 1992, he ran for governor but finished second in a five-way Republican primary. He had 163,719 votes compared to 183,968 for the winner, ex-state Attorney General William L. Webster.

Webster, bloodied by Blunt in a negative advertising battle and dogged by a federal corruption probe, was trounced in the general election by then-Lt. Gov. Mel Carnahan.

Blunt retreated from politics to head Southwest Missouri State University for three years, then sprang back into action when GOP congressman Mel Hancock announced his retirement.

Blunt won the 1996 election handily with 65 percent of the vote. Blunt won re-election in 1998 with 73 percent; in 2000 with 74 percent and in 2002 with 75 percent.

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