Posted on 08/31/2003 4:44:42 PM PDT by jmq
Maxwell won't try for new term as Missouri lieutenant governor By STEVE KRASKE The Kansas City Star
Missouri Lt. Gov. Joe Maxwell on Tuesday announced that he would not seek re-election next year so that he could spend more time caring for his ailing wife.
Maxwell, 46, said he would finish out his term, which ends early in 2005. The Democrat said he hoped to resume his political career in the years ahead.
Sarah Maxwell, 38, has a nerve and bone condition that causes her considerable pain but so far as evaded diagnosis, the lieutenant governor said.
So far, doctors have found ways to mask the pain but not treat the underlying problem, he said. The illness is not thought to be life-threatening.
The Maxwells, who live in Mexico, Mo., have two daughters, ages 7 and 12.
"Right now, Sarah and I are aware that our family is not at the level it needs to be to do a re-election campaign," Maxwell said. "We had to cut something loose from our lives."
The news stunned Democratic Party officials, who said they had little warning of the decision. Maxwell said he had told Gov. Bob Holden on Sunday evening but largely kept the matter private.
"Joe is a talented leader and statesman, and I hope he will return to public service in the near future," Holden said in a news release.
Maxwell's departure leaves a gaping hole in the party's 2004 candidate lineup. Republican Peter Kinder, president pro tem of the Missouri Senate, is expected to seek the GOP nomination.
Among possible Democratic candidates mentioned Tuesday were former House Speaker Steve Gaw, now a member of the Missouri Public Service Commission; former Gov. Roger Wilson; and Robin Carnahan, now a candidate for secretary of state.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To reach Steve Kraske, political correspondent, call (816) 234-4312 or send e-mail to skraske@kcstar.com.
Take 3 minutes and study a map of Missouri elections. All counties in rural areas went Republican with few exceptions-just as they did with CCW. Maps very similar.
You need to educate yourself with some facts and stop trying to be cute-cause ya ain't!
Even without the fraud in St. Louis, there were too many Missourians who voted for Carnahan for that same reason. If people had been thinking instead of feeling, she would not have won in the first place.
Fortunately, voters corrected their mistake in 2002. Senator Jim Talent is great!
The problem is, and has been, that StL votes come in last. They are "manufactured." Consequently, no matter what us rural folk do, they still beat us. Until 2002. Dems got wiped out. Republicans kicked butt. Will we be able to override Governor Bob "throw ME a party" Holden's vetoes? Time will tell...
Unfortunately, 90% of better, of Congressional widows get elected to their deceased husbands seats. It's nationwide-not merely Missouri. The sympathy vote seems to be good for one term-unless they prove themselves.
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