Roy Blunt Bio
Roy Dean Blunt (born January 10, 1950) is an American politician and lobbyist who served as a United States senator from Missouri from 2011 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 33rd Missouri Secretary of State from 1985 to 1993 and as a United States representative for Missouri’s 7th congressional district from 1997 to 2011. After leaving the Senate, Blunt joined the lobbying firm Husch Blackwell Strategies and the board of directors of Southwest Airlines, and later was elected president of The State Historical Society of Missouri.
Early Life and Background
Roy Dean Blunt was born on January 10, 1950, in Niangua, Missouri, the son of Neva Dora (née Letterman) and Leroy Blunt, a politician. He grew up in southwest Missouri and went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 1970 from Southwest Baptist University. Two years later, he completed a master’s degree in history at Southwest Missouri State University, now known as Missouri State University. During his college years, he received three draft deferments from the Vietnam War.
Blunt began his professional life as a high school history teacher at Marshfield High School in Marshfield, Missouri, from 1970 to 1972. He later taught at his alma mater, Southwest Baptist University, and served on the adjunct faculty at Drury University, building a foundation in public education before entering public service.
Path to US Politics
Blunt entered politics in 1973 when he was appointed county clerk and chief election official of Greene County, Missouri. He was subsequently elected to the position three times, serving a total of 12 years and gaining hands-on experience with election administration. In 1980, he ran for lieutenant governor of Missouri, winning the Republican primary but losing the general election to State Representative Ken Rothman.
After this first statewide bid, Blunt set his sights on the Missouri Secretary of State’s office. In 1984, he won the Republican primary with 79 percent of the vote and then defeated Democratic State Representative Gary D. Sharpe 54 percent to 46 percent in the general election, becoming the first Republican to hold the post in 50 years. He won reelection in 1988 against Democrat James Askew by a margin of 61 percent to 38 percent, and he served two terms as Secretary of State from 1985 to 1993.
Roy Blunt Career
Early Career (1972–1997)
After leaving the Secretary of State’s office in 1993, Blunt returned to higher education, serving as president of Southwest Baptist University, his alma mater, from 1993 to 1996. During this period, he also explored a run for Missouri governor in 1992, finishing second in the Republican primary behind Missouri Attorney General William Webster.
In 1996, after incumbent U.S. Representative Mel Hancock honored his pledge to serve only four terms, Blunt decided to run for the United States House of Representatives. He won the Republican primary on August 6, 1996, defeating Gary Nodler 56 percent to 44 percent, and went on to defeat Democrat Ruth Bamberger 65 percent to 32 percent in the general election, claiming Missouri’s 7th congressional district seat.
U.S. House of Representatives Breakthrough (1997–2011)
Upon entering the U.S. House, Blunt served on the House International Relations Committee, the House Committee on Agriculture, and the House Transportation Committee. In 1999, he gave up seats on the latter two committees and joined the Committee on Energy and Commerce, while also becoming a member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. After only one term, he was appointed Chief Deputy Whip, the highest appointed position in the House Republican Caucus, serving as the Republicans’ chief vote-counter.
In 2002, when Dick Armey retired and Tom DeLay was elected to succeed him as House Majority Leader, Blunt was elected to succeed DeLay as House Majority Whip. Blunt served as acting Majority Leader beginning in September 2005, after DeLay was indicted on felony charges involving campaign finance. In 2006, he sought to permanently replace DeLay but lost the secret ballot election to U.S. Representative John Boehner of Ohio, 122 votes to 109. Later that year, House Republicans elected Blunt to their second-highest position, Minority Whip, during the 110th Congress, a role he held until stepping down in late 2008.
U.S. Senate Era (2011–2023)
On February 19, 2009, Blunt announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Republican incumbent Kit Bond. He won the 2010 general election against Democratic Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, along with Constitution, Libertarian, and write-in candidates. The following year, he was elected vice chairman of the Senate Republican Conference. In November 2018, Blunt was elected to serve as Policy Committee chairman, becoming the dean of Missouri’s congressional delegation.
In 2016, Blunt won the Republican primary with 73 percent of the vote and faced Democrat Jason Kander in the general election, winning 49.2 percent to 46.4 percent. In the Senate, Blunt chaired the House Republican Health Care Solutions Group during his time in the House and continued working across the aisle in the upper chamber. On March 8, 2021, he announced that he would not seek reelection in 2022 and was succeeded in the U.S. Senate by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt.
Notable Events and Milestones
Blunt was at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, serving as a teller for the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count certification. Before the certification, he announced his support for certifying the election, in contrast to his fellow Missouri senator Josh Hawley. He was later removed from the Senate floor to an undisclosed location as insurrectionists approached the chambers. As master of ceremonies for the inauguration of President Joe Biden, Blunt delivered a speech expounding the Constitution’s Preamble and the continuing project of forming a more perfect Union.
Roy Blunt Career Wins
Over a public service career spanning more than four decades, Roy Blunt compiled a long list of electoral victories at the county, state, and federal levels, including two terms as Missouri Secretary of State, seven terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, and two terms in the U.S. Senate.
U.S. Senate Highlights
Blunt won his first U.S. Senate race in 2010, defeating Democrat Robin Carnahan and several minor-party candidates to claim the seat vacated by Kit Bond. His most recent Senate victory came in 2016, when he secured the Republican primary with 73 percent of the vote and defeated Democrat Jason Kander 49.2 percent to 46.4 percent in a closely watched general election.
Other Wins & Achievements
Blunt won three terms as Greene County Clerk, the 1984 Missouri Secretary of State’s race becoming the first Republican to hold the post in 50 years, and was reelected Secretary of State in 1988 by a 61 percent to 38 percent margin. He also won seven consecutive U.S. House races in Missouri’s 7th congressional district beginning in 1996, and he was elected by his peers to top House leadership posts, including House Majority Whip and House Minority Whip. In 2021, he was appointed an Honorary Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to Australia’s bilateral relationship with the United States.
Roy Blunt Family
Family Background and Public Service Lineage
Roy Blunt is the son of Leroy Blunt, a politician, and Neva Dora (née Letterman) Blunt. He grew up in Niangua, Missouri, and followed his father into a life of public service. His son, Matt Blunt, served as governor of Missouri, extending the family’s involvement in state government.
Personal Life
Blunt has been married twice. He married Roseann Ray in May 1967, and the couple had three children, Matt, Amy Blunt Mosby, and Andrew Blunt, before divorcing in 2003. That same year, he married Abigail Perlman, a lobbyist, and in April 2006, they adopted an 18-month-old boy from Russia named Charlie Blunt. The family lives in Washington, D.C., and also owns a condo in Springfield, Missouri. Roy Blunt has six grandchildren and is a practicing Southern Baptist.