Jason Kander

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Jason Kander
File:Jason Kander.jpg
39th Secretary of State of Missouri
In office
January 14, 2013 – January 9, 2017
Governor Jay Nixon
Preceded by Robin Carnahan
Succeeded by Jay Ashcroft
Member of the Missouri House of Representatives
from the 44th district
In office
January 12, 2009 – January 14, 2013
Preceded by Jenee Lowe
Succeeded by Caleb Rowden
Personal details
Born (1981-05-04) May 4, 1981 (age 43)
Overland Park, Kansas, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Diana Kander
Education American University (BA)
Georgetown University (JD)
Website Official website
Military service
Allegiance  United States
Service/branch  United States Army
Years of service 2003–2011
Rank US-O3 insignia.svg Captain
Battles/wars War in Afghanistan

Jason Kander (born May 4, 1981) is an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected Secretary of State of Missouri in 2012, serving from 2013 to 2017. He previously served as a state representative. He was an intelligence officer in the Army National Guard, achieving the rank of Captain. He was the Democratic nominee for the United States Senate, losing the 2016 Senate election to Republican incumbent Roy Blunt.[1]

Early life

Kander was born on May 4, 1981, in Overland Park, Kansas,[2] the son of Janet and Steve Kander.[3] He graduated from Bishop Miege High School in 1999.[4] He attended American University. After 9/11, he enlisted in the Army National Guard. While earning his law degree at Georgetown University, he earned his commission through the University's ROTC battalion.[5] After completing his law degree, he volunteered for a tour in Afghanistan, where he served as a lieutenant.[6]

When he returned home, Kander took a position as an instructor at the Missouri Army National Guard's Officer Candidate School at Fort Leonard Wood.[7]

In 2010, Kander was named one of 10 finalists for the Army Reserve Association's Maj. Gen. Strom Thurmond Outstanding Junior Officer of the Year Award.[8] He was discharged honorably at the rank of Captain in 2011.[9]

Legislative career

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Main article: Electoral history of Jason Kander

Missouri House of Representatives

Kander was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 2008.[10]

In 2010, Kander worked with Republican State Representative Tim Flook to pass the first major ethics reform bill in Missouri since 1991.[11] In 2010, he ran for re-election to his State Representative seat and won 70% of the vote to defeat Republican Sally Miller.[citation needed]

During his time in the Missouri House, Kander was the chief sponsor of 28 bills, none of which became law.[12]

Missouri Secretary of State

Kander announced his candidacy for the Missouri Secretary of State after SoS Robin Carnahan announced she would not seek reelection.[13] Kander defeated MD Rabbi Alam in the primary election, winning the Democratic nomination to be Missouri's Secretary of State [14]

In the general election, Kander faced the Speaker Pro Tempore of the Missouri House, State Representative Shane Schoeller. As of the October Quarterly Report, Kander had $1,075,000 on hand[15] while Schoeller had $297,450[16] to spend for the rest of the election.

On November 6, 2012, Kander narrowly defeated Schoeller and was elected Missouri Secretary of State.[17]

Political positions

In 2009, Kander signed a Progressive State Network letter calling on President Obama and the Democrat-led Congress to include a public option in Obamacare.[18]

Despite the lack of a public option, Kander supports retaining Obamacare.[19]

In 2009, Kander voted against a bill that would extend the Castle Doctrine to renters. The doctrine allows a homeowner to use deadly force against a perceived intruder.[20][21] The NRA has given Kander a 7% rating.[22] Kander has also cited overturning Citizens United v. FEC as a political priority.[12]

2016 U.S. Senate election

On February 19, 2015, Kander entered the race to represent Missouri in the United States Senate against Roy Blunt, the Republican incumbent.[23] He won the Democratic primary against three other candidates on August 2, 2016. Kander's campaign released an ad in September that showed the blindfolded senatorial candidate assembling an AR-15 rifle while explaining his support of background checks. The ad quickly went viral, and as of November 2016 the original YouTube video had earned over 1.3 million views.[24][25] While initially significantly behind in the race, polls started to show a tightening in the fall.[26] Kander was a national co-chair for Hillary Clinton.[27] During the campaign, Kander positioned himself as a Washington outsider and touted his experience as an Army Intelligence officer.[27] He was endorsed by the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.[28]

Kander was narrowly defeated by Blunt in the general election, receiving 46.2% of the vote to Blunt's 49.4%.[1]

Personal life

Kander is married to Diana Kander, a businesswoman and author.[29][30] Diana and her family emigrated from the Soviet Union in 1989. The couple has one son.[30]

Kander's great-uncle is composer John Kander.[31]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Missouri U.S. Senate Results: Roy Blunt Wins, nytimes.com; accessed November 9, 2016.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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External links

Political offices
Preceded by Secretary of State of Missouri
2013–2017		 Succeeded by
Jay Ashcroft
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for U.S. Senator from Missouri
(Class 3)
2016		 Most recent
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