Background

• Matt Blunt is the son of House Minority Whip Roy Blunt. He is married and has a son.
• Blunt attended the United States Naval Academy where he received a bachelor's degree in history in 1993.
• Following his navel career, Blunt was elected as a Republican to the Missouri House of Representatives in 1998. In 2000, he was elected Missouri Secretary of State. Blunt was the only Republican elected to statewide office in Missouri in 2000. In 2004, he was elected Governor of Missouri.

Professional Positions

• US Navy - Served as an engineering officer and an administrative officer. He received four Navy and Marine Corps Achievement medals. Following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Blunt was called into active military service wherein he completed a six-month tour of duty in Great Britain. He continued to work full-time as Missouri Secretary of State.
• 1998-2001 - State Representative for the 139th District of Missouri
• 2001-2005 - Missouri Secretary of State
• 2005-2008 - Governor of Missouri. In January of 2008, Blunt announced he would not run for re-election after his first term.

Accomplishments

• Blunt's first priority was to balance the budget. He is credited with trimming state spending without raising taxes.

Criticism

• In trimming state spending, Blunt cut many of the state's entitlement programs. Approximately 177,000 people lost their health care due to these cuts (Source: Joplin Independent).

Additional Information

Biography Links

• Wikipedia