Luetkemeyer already eyeing 2010
Luetkemeyer
It comes as no surprise, but Rep.-Elect Blaine Luetkemeyer already has taken early official steps toward running for a second term in 2010.
The 9th District Republican last week filed documents with the Federal Election Commission authorizing his Blaine for Congress committee to act as the fundraising repository for a 2010 campaign.
He also again will use an auxiliary fundraising group called Friends of Blaine Luetkemeyer, based in Alexandria, Va., outside Washington.
Luetkemeyer, who beat Democratic state Rep. Judy Baker Nov. 4 in the 25-county district in central and northeast Missouri, spent $1.46 million of his own money on his primary and general-election campaigns. He raised a lot less than that from others - $649,000.
Luetkemeyer, of St. Elizabeth near the Lake of the Ozarks, can expect to face a serious Democratic challenge in 2010, if tradition holds. The opposite party typically takes its best shot at ousting a Congressional incumbent in his or her first re-election effort. On election night Baker didn’t rule out the possibility of a repeat bid.
Complicating matters is the possibility that whoever is elected to the seat in 2010 might see the 9th District eliminated. That could happen if, as many expect, the state loses a Congressional seat in 2012 after the 2010 census.
On the other hand, a different district could be chosen for the dustbin by the Legislature - which is controlled by members of Luetkemeyer’s GOP. The new Democratic governor, Jay Nixon, also will be involved.
The last time a Missouri district was eliminated - in 1982, after the 1980 census - two incumbents ran against each other.
The post-1980 map combined parts of the districts of Republican Reps. Wendell Bailey and Bill Emerson into a revamped 8th District in southeast Missouri. That map was drawn up by a panel of federal judges after the Legislature couldn’t agree on a plan.
Instead of running against Emerson, Bailey chose to battle Democratic Rep. Ike Skelton in the 4th in western and central Missouri. Skelton won and still holds the seat today.
Luetkemeyer doesn’t need money. He’s rich and will use all of his own money to defend himself against “attacks.”