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URGENT MRP STATEMENT on Chris Koster

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Contact: Paul Sloca, 573-636-3146 or 573-301-0576

STATEMENT
Following is a statement from Jared Craighead, executive director of the Missouri Republican Party, on Sen. Chris Koster’s decision to abandon the Republican Party:

“Republicans are surprised that Senator Koster who has championed so many Republican causes, participated in leadership of the Senate Republican Caucus and served as a member of the Republican State Committee would decide suddenly that he is a Democrat. Chris is a personal friend of mine but I fear he has blinded himself with his desire for higher office and the hollow promises of Jay Nixon’s political machine rather than keeping his commitment to the constituents who elected him to represent them.

I expect that Chris will resign from the Senate immediately and stand for election as a Democrat in a special election so that the people of the 31st Senatorial District have an opportunity to decide whether they want him representing them now that he has totally reversed his positions on important issues like gay marriage, Second Amendment rights and Medicaid reform.
If I had to guess, Chris will likely quote Winston Churchill to describe his decision saying, `some men change their party for the sake of their principles; others change their principles for the sake of the party.’ But I would remind Chris that Churchill also remarked on the occasion of a party switch that it was the only instance he could recall of a rat swimming towards a sinking ship - that sentiment seems particularly applicable in this case.

Simply stated, Chris has done the political calculus and does not believe he can win a Republican primary and does not believe that Jeff Harris is a formidable opponent.”

Koster switches to Democratic Party in likely bid for Missouri AG
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
By KELLY WIESE
Associated Press Writer

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) Sen. Chris Koster announced Wednesday that he was switching from the Republican to the Democratic Party, as he prepares for a likely run for attorney general.

Koster said he has determined that he is more aligned with Democrats than Republicans on several issues, including stem cell research, workers’ rights, minimum wage and leaving intact Missouri’s current judiciary system.

``Today, Republican moderates are all but extinct. On so many of the critical issues of our day it has been Democrats and not Republicans who have stood by my side,’’ Koster said at a news conference at the University of Missouri-Columbia, where he got his bachelor and law degrees.

He stopped short of declaring his intent to run for attorney general, but he has formed a campaign committee for an unspecified statewide office in 2008 and said he does not intend to seek re-election in the Senate.

Koster has angered some in the Republican Party for his ardent support of stem cell research. Some anti-abortion organizations believe a certain form of stem cell research destroys life at its earliest stages.

Jared Craighead, executive director of the Missouri Republican Party, said Koster’s decision to switch parties was a strategic move, made because Koster thinks it will be easier to win the Democratic primary in the attorney general’s race. The incumbent, Democrat Jay Nixon, plans to seek the governor’s office.

``Chris is a personal friend of mine, but I fear he has blinded himself with his desire for higher office and the hollow promises of Jay Nixon’s political machine rather than keeping his commitment to the constituents who elected him to represent them,’’ Craighead said in a written statement.

He also said Koster should resign from the Senate and run as a Democrat in a special election.

One of the state’s most prominent Democrats, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, signaled that her party is ready to embrace Koster.

``I welcome Chris Koster to the Democratic Party, where diversity of opinions is common and welcome,’’ McCaskill said.

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., who has known Koster for 15 years, said he was ``surprised but not shocked’’ by the move.

``Chris does what he has to do to get elected,’’ Graves said. ``I need to talk to him and find out what he’s thinking. Did I see him moving in that direction? No.’’

Koster also had stops planned later Wednesday in his hometown of Harrisonville and in St. Louis, where he went to high school.

In a letter late Tuesday, he told Republican Senate leaders that he was resigning his post as majority caucus chairman.

``Despite the circumstances surrounding this letter, it has been an honor to serve with you in this capacity,’’ he wrote.

Koster’s campaign finance reports show he has raised $713,262 for an unspecified statewide office.

Among his major contributions is $125,000 in January from James Stowers founder of the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in Kansas City. Stowers financed most of the $30 million campaign for last year’s narrowly approved constitutional amendment protecting the ability to conduct stem cell research.

A passionate speech by Koster two years ago helped stall a bill that would have banned a certain kind of embryonic stem cell research.