St. Louis lawyer Jay Ashcroft has declared his 2016 bid for Missouri secretary of state, becoming the first of what’s expected to be a deluge of contenders since Secretary of State Jason Kander is running for the U.S. Senate instead.
Ashcroft is a Republican from St. Louis County, and the son of former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, who’s also a former governor and U.S. senator.
Jay Ashcroft lost his first bid for public office last fall when he made an unsuccessful run against Democrat Jill Schupp for the state Senate.
Ashcroft said in a statement Thursday that his campaign for secretary of state will focus on fair elections and “a pro-jobs agenda.”
“After prayerful consideration, I have decided that my experience as an attorney and engineer makes me uniquely qualified to serve Missouri as our next secretary of state,” Ashcroft said.
“Missouri is desperately in need of leaders who will fight for our state’s common sense conservative values. I will work to protect the integrity of our elections while ensuring the office’s business functions are streamlined to allow Missouri employers to focus on what they do best: creating businesses and jobs.”
Kander, a Democrat, had announced earlier today that he’s not seeking re-election because he plans to challenge U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.
