State Senator Kurt Schaefer of Columbia has become the first big-name Republican to officially toss his hat in the ring for the 2016 Missouri Attorney General's race.
Schaefer is in his second and final term in the Missouri Senate. He made headlines earlier this year when he held hearings on the Department of Revenue's (DOR) practice of scanning the documents of driver's license applicants, and its decision to release the names of Missouri's conceal-carry weapons holders to a federal investigator. He says if elected, he intends to be more aggressive in pursuing civil suits than the current Attorney General, Chris Koster (D).
"Whether that (is) to help protect (the) business climate, help protect the individual rights of Missouri citizens, those are always discretionary questions for the Attorney General," Schaefer said. "My position would be to be very active in that regard to make sure that that office is the top law enforcement agency in the state of Missouri."
Schaefer will likely face competition for the GOP nomination – House Speaker Tim Jones (R, Eureka) has expressed interest in running for both Attorney General and Secretary of State, and State Senator Eric Schmitt (R, Glendale) may also run.
Koster is expected to run for Governor in 2016.
Follow Marshall Griffin on Twitter: @MarshallGReport
