Four-term US Sen. Christopher ‘Kit' Bond remembered for training a generation of Missouri leaders
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Christopher 'Kit' Bond, a Republican who was Missouri's youngest governor before serving four terms in the U.S. Senate, was remembered Tuesday as a beloved statesman who helped train a generation of leaders.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol escorted his body from St. Louis, where he
died
last week at the age of 86, to the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City, where hundreds of people gathered for a memorial service. Bond is to lie in state through Wednesday so members of the public can pay their respects.
'Over and over again, Kit launched the careers of young people, talented, committed, dedicated people who later, after appointment, found opportunity beckoning them to achievement levels they hadn't anticipated,' said John Ashcroft, who was a governor, senator and attorney general under President George W. Bush. 'Kit was a person of both individual and governmental integrity. I have no recollection of anytime where Kit failed to live up to his commitments.'
As a member of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, Bond secured federal money for big and small projects in Missouri, scoffing at government watchdog groups that considered him a master of pork-barrel spending.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver recalled that while he was serving as mayor of Kansas City, a monument to honor World War I veterans known as Liberty Memorial had fallen into disrepair. He likened the 217-foot (66-meter) tall structure that was built after a burst of postwar patriotism to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. He said Bond stepped in with federal dollars to help restore it.
'Working together as friends was the propellant that allowed us, with others, to alter the landscape of Kansas City,' Cleaver said.
Early in his career, Bond was considered a political wunderkind. When he took office at age 33 as Missouri's youngest governor, he was also the state's first Republican chief executive in about three decades and garnered consideration as a vice presidential candidate. His early success stalled when he lost a reelection bid, but he later rebounded to win another term as governor before being elected to the Senate in 1986 and eventually becoming the patriarch of the Missouri Republican Party.
Testaments to Bond's longevity in the public arena are stamped across Missouri. A federal courthouse in Jefferson City and a life sciences center at the University of Missouri-Columbia are named after him. A highway bridge crossing the Missouri River in Hermann and one in Kansas City also carry his name.
'Kit Bond was an exceptional person who was blessed with many talents,' said former U.S. Sen. John Danforth. 'He was very smart. He was highly educated. He had boundless energy. He wanted for nothing. He could have clung on to what was his and lived comfortably only for himself. But that was not what he did. He invested his talents, put them at risk, and he produced such a great return to the state.'
___
Hollingsworth reported from Kansas City, Missouri.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
22 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Republicans advance measure to ban noncitizens from voting in local DC elections
WASHINGTON — The House advanced a bill to ban noncitizens from voting in local elections in Washington, D.C., marking the latest step from Republicans to crack down on city policies they view as too liberal. Lawmakers voted 268-148 largely along party lines to advance the measure, sending the bill over to the Republican-led Senate for consideration. The bill managed to garner some bipartisan support after 56 Democrats voted in favor. However, the legislation's future is uncertain as it would require seven Democrats to buck party leadership and support the proposal. 'The right to vote is a defining privilege of American citizenship,' House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., said in a speech on the House floor. 'Diluting that right by extending it to noncitizens — whether here legally or illegally — undermines the voice of D.C. residents.' The bill would overturn the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act, a bill passed by the D.C. Council in 2022 that permits undocumented residents living in Washington to vote in local elections. City lawmakers have defended the measure by pointing to a 'long history of the U.S. allowing noncitizens to vote in local (or) state' elections. Lawmakers also note many of the undocumented residents pay local taxes, support businesses, and attend district schools — arguing that should qualify them to have a say in local elections. However, Republicans have argued that allowing noncitizens to vote in local elections sets a dangerous precedent that could negatively harm local governments. 'Some may wrongly dismiss these as local elections. The reality is local elections are a vital part of our democratic process and have a significant impact on communities,' Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, who led the bill in the House, said in a speech. 'Local elections determine matters such as taxation, the criminal code, and the election of city council members who create essential ordinances, including those that dictate voting rights.' Additionally, Republicans have criticized the law as a way to dilute 'the voice of American citizens.' 'It's also important to acknowledge that many local elections are decided by razor-thin margins underscoring their significance and importance of active participation,' Pfluger said. GOP lawmakers also cited opposition from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, who withheld her signature from the ordinance but allowed it to take effect. 'Why would my colleagues on the other side of the aisle want foreigners to vote in local elections in Washington, D.C.? What's the purpose?' Pfluger said. 'Free and fair elections are prerequisites for the healthy republic our founding fathers envisioned, with the District of Columbia as the epicenter.' House Republicans passed a bill in 2023 seeking to repeal the D.C. law allowing noncitizens to vote. The bill was spearheaded by Republicans but 52 Democrats ultimately joined all Republicans in approving the bill despite efforts from Democratic leadership to quash the proposal. However, the legislation was never considered in the Senate, which was controlled by Democrats at the time. Despite not being a state, Washington is permitted to operate as an independent city government under the D.C. Home Rule Act. However, local laws are still subject to congressional approval before they can take effect, occasionally setting up showdowns between Congress and local lawmakers. The vote on Tuesday is the first of three bills being considered this week by the House to rein in some of D.C.'s local ordinances. Other proposals being considered would rescind D.C. Council policies allowing city employees to not comply with requests from the Department of Homeland Security or Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
New York Post
23 minutes ago
- New York Post
Mikie Sherrill beats crowded field to become Democratic candidate for NJ governor
US Rep. and former prosecutor and Navy helicopter pilot Mikie Sherrill will be the state's Democratic nominee for governor in November after defeating five Dem opponents in Tuesday's party primary. Sherrill, 53, a mother of four and four-term congresswoman representing parts of Essex, Morris and Passaic counties, garnered an early lead in pre-primary polling in large part because of her impressive resume, which included a stint as a federal prosecutor. She tallied 34.6% of the vote when the Associated Press projected her to win at 8:39 p.m. ET. Advertisement Rep. Mikie Sherrill has won New Jersey's Democratic primary for governor. AP Photo/Heather Khalifa Sherill of Montclair beat out Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, US Rep. Josh Gottheimer, New Jersey Education Association union President Sean Spiller and former state Sen. Steve Sweeney for the nod. Fulop was netting 17.8% of the vote and Baraka, Gottheimer, Spiller and Sweeney all had less than 14% support when the race was called. Advertisement In addition to Sherill enjoying a solid polling lead heading into the primary, she also had won the support of much of the Garden State's Democratic Party apparatus. In Congress, Sherrill serves on the House Committee on Armed Services and its Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. She also is a member of caucuses including the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues, the New Democrat Coalition and the Rare Disease Caucus. Her campaign centered around the affordability crisis in Jersey affecting everything from healthcare costs to grocery prices. She also regularly spoke out against the Trump administration as well as Elon Musk, accusing them of working to 'dismantle' social programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Sherrill pledged if elected as governor to work to lower prescription drug costs while requiring more transparency in healthcare pricing and directing the state's attorney general to go after practices such as price gouging, monopolies and insurers denying coverage. Advertisement Sherrill posing for photos with supporters at a 'Get Out the Vote' rally in Elizabeth on June 7, 2025. AP Photo/Heather Khalifa She also champions shared services for municipalities and school districts to help spread some of the cost around in an effort to lower property taxes and supports the expansion of the state's Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit. The New Jersey gubernatorial election is scheduled for Nov. 4.
Politico
26 minutes ago
- Politico
Rep. Mikie Sherrill wins Democratic nomination for NJ governor
Democrats chose Rep. Mikie Sherrill as their nominee for governor of New Jersey, as the party attempts to defy odds by holding onto the governorship for a third term in a row. The Associated Press called the race just under an hour after polls closed. The four-term member of Congress prevailed in the crowded Democratic primary field on Tuesday to succeed term-limited Gov. Phil Murphy. She'll face Republican Jack Ciattarelli, setting up a high-stakes battle of two party establishment favorites. Both sides acknowledge that November's election will be competitive. Although the electorate does favor Democrats, it's been decades since Democrats have won the governorship three terms in a row in the Garden State. But in recent history, the candidate of the party opposite of the one that controls the White House typically wins the race for governor. Still, Republicans are emboldened by President Donald Trump's closer-than-expected loss in New Jersey last November, as well as the gains they've made to cut into Democrats' voter registration advantage. And Republicans argue it helps that they have a candidate with high name ID: Ciattarelli ran for governor two times prior and narrowly lost to Murphy in 2021.
