Secretary of State Jason Kander will seek Senate seat held by Roy Blunt

Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, a friend to working families, is entering next year’s U.S. Senate race, seeking the Democratic nomination to challenge Republican Roy Blunt.

“It’s time for a new generation of leaders,” said Kander, 33, a U.S. Army veteran who enlisted after September 11^th and later volunteered to serve in Afghanistan.

“For years, even with our economy suffering at home and our national security threatened abroad, too many politicians in both political parties have been more concerned with scoring political points than doing what’s right for our country,” Kander said.

“We can’t change Washington if we don’t change the people we send there. I believe it’s time for a new generation of leaders who’ve come of age at a time of unprecedented challenges and threats to our country, and who are committed to bringing people together and doing what’s right no matter what the personal cost.”

Kander was elected Secretary of State in 2012, and cut his own budget by over $1 million, while providing more services. He has also worked to cut red tape and fees to help small businesses hire and thrive, protected voters’ rights, and got tens of millions of dollars for taxpayers when he took on the Wall Street firms that helped cause the 2008 financial crisis. He previously served as a state legislator from Kansas City.

Blunt, 65, is a first-term Senator who served in the House from 1997 until 2011. He previously served two terms as Missouri Secretary of State.

Roy Temple, chairman of the Missouri Democratic Party, said he believed Kander’s outsider status would appeal to Missouri voters looking for change in Washington.

Missouri is one of 24 states where Republicans will defend Senate seats next year.