More hats in the ring in race for majority floor leader

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — A St. Charles Republican is the latest to declare his candidacy for the number two position in House leadership.

Rep. Robert Cornejo sent out a statement today declaring his intentions to seek the post of Majority Floor Leader, putting him in, at least, a three-way battle between himself, Rep. Caleb Rowden of Columbia and Rep. Mike Cierpiot of Lee’s Summit.

“I have a single focus: to do what is necessary for our Republican majority to move forward, accomplish our legislative priorities, promote our values, demonstrate the importance of small government, and keep our supermajority in the 2016 elections,” Cornejo said in an email to colleagues. “My motivation for seeking the position of Floor Leader is solely to further these goals, not to further my own career. I have no plans to seek a different office in 2016 or 2018, and I am not going to use the position to pad my campaign account.”

Cierpiot has already served a full term as assistant majority floor leader and chose to remain in the post, rather than looking to move up, when Rep. Todd Richardson, R-Poplar Bluff, sought the job last year. When Richardson ascended to the post of speaker in the final week following the resignation of John Diehl, Cierpiot began quietly assembling support to stay in the job when the caucus votes on leadership positions later this summer.

While Rowden and Cornejo both opted for public announcement, sources in the caucus say Cierpiot is opting for a quieter approach, calling individual members and getting verbal confirmations of support. Cierpiot released a brief statement to The Missouri Times about his future in the caucus.

“As Assistant Majority Floor Leader, I am proud of the work we have done together to advance our agenda and build a historic Republican supermajority,” Cierpiot said. “I’m also honored by the overwhelming support that I have received talking to our members this week about running for Majority Floor Leader. As this is a caucus election, I’m going to focus my efforts talking directly to members of our caucus about how we can continue to advance our common sense conservative values and grow our majority as we head toward 2016 and beyond.”

Cornejo’s announcement comes just one day after Rowden sent out his own message to caucus members asking for support in his own bid.

“I believe Republicans in the Missouri legislature have a generational opportunity to stand up and lead in the areas that matter most to Missourians,” Rowden wrote. “Our challenges are great, but our opportunities are greater, and I am excited about the chance to partner with my colleagues in crafting a vision to catapult our state forward to new levels of growth and opportunity.”

While Cierpiot may be considered the front-runner, both Cornejo and Rowden have paths to victory as well. Both men have already shown a knack for handling tough issues and are quickly developing reputations as capable and ambitious. Cierpiot, on the other hand, has a quieter public persona and is known as an affable pragmatist.

The caucus will be asked to vote on a new floor leader later this summer when they caucus ahead of the special veto session. A floor leader election will have several run-off ballots until a single candidate has enough votes to win.