Jim Talent

James M. "Jim" Talent
Junior Senator, Missouri
In office November 25 2002 – Present
Preceded by	Jean Carnahan (D)
Succeeded by	Incumbent (2007)
Personal details
Nationality	american
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Brenda Talent

James Matthes "Jim" Talent (born October 18, 1956) is an American politician, the junior Senator from Missouri. He is a Republican, and a lifelong resident of the St. Louis area. Talent is Presbyterian.

Talent earned his A.B. from Washington University and a J.D. from the University of Chicago. Following law school, he served as a law clerk to Judge Richard A. Posner of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

Political career

Talent began his political career in 1984 when he was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives. He served four terms there, the last two as minority leader.

House of Representatives

In 1992, Talent defeated Bert Walker, the cousin of then-president George H.W. Bush and won the Republican nomination for the state's 2nd Congressional District, based in St. Louis's western suburbs. He went on to defeat Democratic incumbent Joan Kelly Horn in the general election.

The district had been heavily altered after the 1990 census to preserve large Democratic majorities in the neighboring 1st District of Bill Clay and 3rd District of Dick Gephardt. Horn had appealed for a new map, even asking for a share of St. Louis, but was rebuffed by Clay and Gephardt.

Although Talent won narrowly in 1992, he never had another close race in what rapidly became a solidly Republican district. The only serious challenge he faced came in 1996, when Horn sought a rematch. Even though popular Democratic Governor Mel Carnahan was running for reelection, Talent dispatched Horn fairly easily, winning 61% of the vote.

Talent served as chairman of the Small Business Committee from 1997 to 2001.

Race for governor

Talent did not seek re-election to Congress in 2000, instead running for governor. He was narrowly defeated by Democratic state treasurer Bob Holden, 49.1% to 48.2%.

Election to the Senate

In the November 2000 elections, Mel Carnahan, who had died in a plane crash three weeks before, remained on the ballot for election to the Senate. Carnahan received more votes than his Republican opponent, John Ashcroft, who did not legally contest being defeated by a dead candidate. Lieutenant Governor Roger Wilson, as he had promised before the election, appointed Carnahan's widow, Jean, in her husband's place.

The Seventeenth Amendment requires that appointments to the Senate last only until a special election is held. Talent, who received the Republican nomination, narrowly defeated Jean Carnahan in the November 2002 election, 50% to 49%. He was sworn in later that month to fill out the balance of Mel Carnahan's term .

Political views

Flag Burning

Talent is a strong supporter of the Flag Desecration Amendment. He has said that flag burning is not speech, but merely "an act with expressive overtones." He is a co-sponsor in the Senate of a constitutional amendment to override the Supreme Court, making it possible to criminalize flag-burning.

Stem Cell Research

Since joining the Senate in 2002, Talent had supported federal legislation that would ban stem cell research. This included co-sponsoring a bill (S.658) sponsored by Senator Sam Brownback which would ban all forms of human cloning, including embryonic therapeutic cloning techniques that are seen as crucial to stem cell research.

On Feb 10, 2006, Talent withdrew his support for the bill, citing the need to balance research and protection against human cloning. This move followed criticism by Talent's Democratic opponent in the 2006 election, Claire McCaskill, as well as pressure from Missouri business interests that oppose restrictions on stem cell research. Though this reversal was widely criticized as being due to politics , Talent told the Associated Press, "The technology is changing all the time and so I'm always considering whether there is a better way to strike the balance.". Talent suggests that moral concerns might be put to rest through a possible future scientific breakthrough - replicating embryonic stem cells without the use of cloned embryos.

There is likely to be a ballot-initiative in Missouri in November 2006 to amend the state constitution and allow, in line with federal law, stem cell research and treatment. On May 1, 2006, Talent came out in opposition to the proposed ballot-initiative . Stem cell research and treatment is working up to be a divisive issue for many Republicans and is taking a particular prominence in Missouri. In the senate, he subsequently voted against expanding federal funds for embryonic stem cell research in July of 2006.

2006 re-election campaign

Main article: Missouri U.S. Senate election, 2006

Talent is seeking re-election in 2006. His Democratic opponent is state auditor Claire McCaskill. Polls conducted in the fall of 2005 suggest that the race is likely to be very close. [2]

Talent currently holds a significant fundraising advantage[3], due in part to support from the Bush administration; on October 11, 2005, Vice President Dick Cheney held a fundraiser for Talent[4].

McCaskill and Talent agreed to debate each other on Meet the Press on October 8, 2006. [5]

External links

• United States Congress. "Jim Talent (id: T000024)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Voting record maintained by the Washington Post

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