Updated 5:40 p.m. Feb. 25, 2011.
A State Senator from rural western Missouri has announced he'll seek the Republican nomination for Secretary of State next year.
Bill Stouffer (R, Napton) was first elected to the Missouri Senate in 2004 and re-elected in 2008.
He made an unsuccessful bid for Congress last year, losing the GOP nod to Vicky Hartzler in Missouri's 4th District. Hartzler later unseated incumbent Democrat Ike Skelton.
Stouffer says one of his top priorities as Secretary of State would be combating voter fraud.
"I think we need to do everything we can to insure that Missouri's elections are free of fraud," Stouffer said. "I think (requiring) photo (identification) is one of the better ways of insuring that...the present Secretary of State (Robin Carnahan) sees otherwise, but that's what makes the world go around."
Stouffer added that it's time for someone else to do the job.
"She (will have had) eight years," Stouffer said. "I'd like to have the opportunity to institute photo ID (requirements), and also possibly early voting, and I think there (are) ways that the office can be streamlined and make business registration more business friendly."
Shortly after Stouffer's announcement, the Associated Press reported that Robin Carnahan (D) will run again for Secretary of State.
And late Friday afternoon, Carnahan's campaign spokesman Tony Wyche provided St. Louis Public Radio with the following statement, via email: "Robin is proud of her record of cutting costs and red tape for Missouri businesses and of protecting consumers from scam artists and financial fraud. She's planning to run again."
Carnahan lost a U. S. Senate bid last year to Republican Roy Blunt.
