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CLAYTON, Mo. - The state of Missouri will open a marketing office in China by the end of the year in an effort to help the state's businesses gain a foothold in one of the world's fastest-growing markets, Gov. Bob Holden said Friday. To help inaugurate the effort, Holden and his wife, Lori Hauser Holden, will visit China Sept. 21 through Oct. 2. That trip will be paid for by the Hawthorn Foundation, a privately funded group aimed at assisting the state in economic development activities. The marketing office in Shanghai will employ one or two people and cost the...

After the Democratic rally Thursday on the grounds of the state Capitol, presidential nominee John Kerry was seen putting his arm around defeated Gov. Bob Holden and whispering to him. At the same event, Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill was overheard thanking Holden chief of staff Jane Dueker. According to Kerry spokesman Bill Burton, the candidate and his top aide were simply "thanking Holden for showing up so soon after the primary," in which he lost to a fellow Democrat, state Auditor Claire McCaskill. Holden's presence helped signal party unity behind Kerry. Burton discounted the interpretation of some Holden...

"Show Me State gun owners showed Bob Holden the door," said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb.As an NRA Life Member, I LOVE seeing the system work. Bye bye anti-gunner.

Missouri Gov. Bob Holden, a Democrat, is one of the few sitting governors ever to lose a primary election. But Holden should have seen it coming because of his anti-gun stand, a Second Amendment group said on Wednesday. Holden's defeat should serve as an object lesson for other politicians who place political correctness ahead of the personal safety of their constituents, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) said in a press release. "Show Me State gun owners showed Bob Holden the door," said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. "Although they tried to downplay it, both...

NEWS RELEASE Tuesday's primary defeat of anti-gun Missouri Gov. Bob Holden should serve as an object lesson for other politicians who place political correctness ahead of the personal safety of their constituents, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) stated. "Show Me State gun owners showed Bob Holden the door," said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. "Although they tried to downplay it, both the St. Louis Post Dispatch and Kansas City Star acknowledged that Holden's veto of concealed carry legislation cost him critical votes, especially in rural Missouri. The governor and his political advisors should have...

JEFFERSON CITY - An Army spokesman confirmed Wednesday that Missouri National Guard truck drivers were sometimes riding shotgun in the cabs of civilian trucks hauling supplies to U.S. forces in Iraq. Gov. Bob Holden and the state adjutant general, Brig. Gen. Dennis Shull, have complained to the White House about the practice, saying it is a dangerous duty the soldiers have not been trained to perform. **snip** Holden wrote a letter of complaint Tuesday to President George W. Bush saying it was an inappropriate use of members of the 1221st Transportation Co. to provide labor for civilian contractors such as...

National politics could impact state races By ROBERT TANNER AP National Writer Presidential politics and economic turmoil will have a major impact on the 11 gubernatorial races this fall, with the interplay between national and state politics most critical in four states where the 2000 race was dramatically close Missouri, New Hampshire, Washington and West Virginia. Tuesday’s primary, the first this year for a gubernatorial race, puts President Bush’s former budget director into the running in Indiana. Mitch Daniels is relying on the president’s term of affection “My Man Mitch” as his slogan for the GOP nomination. He’s up against...

<p>JEFFERSON CITY - Gov. Bob Holden on Friday delivered good news to Missouri's 524 public school districts and did what Republicans have been asking him to do for months.</p> <p>Holden released $127 million that he had withheld from public schools and universities last year to balance the state budget. Holden, a Democrat, said a combination of positive budgeting developments - not improving state revenue - prompted him to make the decision.</p>

HANNIBAL, Mo. - In a polite but tension-filled encounter, Gov. Bob Holden and primary challenger Claire McCaskill shared a stage Saturday before Democrats for the first time since both filed for an August showdown in the governor's race. Holden showed off the influence of incumbency, introducing New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as keynote speaker for a party banquet and welcoming the endorsement of his fellow Democratic governor. McCaskill, the state auditor, was introduced long after Richardson's exit and - standing at the microphone next to the seated Holden - acknowledged at the outset: "I know this is a little tense."...

Jefferson City, MO (LifeNews.com) -- Despite the fact that there are enough pro-life legislators in Missouri to override his vetoes, Governor Bob Holden called them hypocrites for supporting restrictions on abortion while loosening restrictions on business and agriculture. Speaking Tuesday to 150 attendees at a pro-abortion rally, Holden pledged to veto any pro-life legislation -- even though his veto last session of a law requiring a 24 hour waiting period before an abortion was overridden by legislators from both parties. Holden referred to Republican legislators' attempts to reduce the government burden on business and agriculture, and criticized the fact that...

Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc., the top corporate player in Missouri politics, is no longer backing Gov. Bob Holden - in large part because of their differences over concealed weapons. Republican and Democratic sources say the brewery's decision not to support the governor's re-election next year is highly unusual in light of its long-standing reputation as a donor which gives generously to both parties and their candidates, regardless of their views. Before Holden vetoed the bill last summer, sources say, a brewery lobbyist showed up at the governor's office to tell him that such action would end the long-standing support he'd enjoyed...

<p>Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc., the top corporate player in Missouri politics, is no longer backing Gov. Bob Holden - in large part because of their differences over concealed weapons.</p> <p>Republican and Democratic sources say the brewery's decision not to support the governor's re-election next year is highly unusual in light of its long-standing reputation as a donor which gives generously to both parties and their candidates, regardless of their views.</p>

The first time Claire McCaskill thought about running for governor might have been in eighth grade. Her English teacher told her she had a gift -- not so much for conjugating verbs -- but for speaking and "explaining herself." "It wouldn't surprise me if you were the first woman governor," McCaskill said she was told. Thirty-five years later, after a long, methodical climb that has taken her from law school to the General Assembly, a seat on the Jackson County Legislature, election as the county's first woman prosecutor and now her second term as state auditor, Claire Conner McCaskill must...

Missouri GOP sets its sights on governorship By STEVE KRASKE and KEVIN MURPHY The Kansas City Star After electing a U.S. senator, as well as the first GOP-controlled state House in half a century, Missouri Republicans already are looking at their next target:Governor."Bob is next, Bob is next," hundreds of giddy Republicans chanted at their election-night victory celebration last week in St. Louis. Bob is Democratic Gov. Bob Holden, who faces re-election in 2004."He is the weakest governor we have ever seen," said Ann Wagner, chairman of the Missouri Republican Party. "He lacks leadership on many levels, from start to...