BLUNT WEIGHS SECOND TRY FOR GOVERNOR

When election returns started rolling in, few Missourians paid closer attention than the president of Southwest Baptist University at Bolivar. This interest in how Missourians voted in an off-year election was due not only to the fact that Roy Blunt spent eight years in an office that was responsible for conducting statewide voting, but also because the totals could well decide his political future in state government.

Blunt has given himself a two-month study period to decide whether he will seek a second shot at the office of governor, and much of that decision will be based on voting trends the former Republican secretary of state reads from the Nov. 8 totals. Blunt, who has headed the Baptist college since January 1993, has made no secret of the fact he wants to realize a lifelong ambition to serve as Missouri's chief executive.

Blunt's friends around the state, many of whom are convinced he will oppose the expected re-election attempt of incumbent Mel Carnahan, say the Southwest Missourian's survey of voting patterns is typical of the way he pursues a political agenda that took him from the Greene County courthouse to the state Capitol in a very short period of time.

These same friends contend that Blunt is one of the state's best-known and best-liked public figures, enjoying broad strength not only within his own party but widespread support from many conservative and middle-of-the-road Democrats and independents. They point to his narrow 20,249-vote loss to the GOP gubernatorial nominee in 1992, former Attorney General Bill Webster, and a belief voiced then that Blunt could have led a state ticket that would have prevented a virtual Democratic takeover of the state Capitol.

Blunt has told friends off the record that he believes Carnahan is vulnerable, following his support of a 1993 tax increase to support local schools. He has also cited several decisions since then that Blunt believes have weakened Carnahan's political strength, particularly in out-state areas where GOP candidates attract both independent and conservative support.

The son of a former state representative from Greene and Webster counties, the 44-year-old Blunt is a graduate of the college he now heads at Bolivar, receiving a bachelor's degree there in 1970. He earned a master's degree in history two years later from Southwest Missouri State University at Springfield.

He later taught school and then held the office of Greene County clerk for three terms before making his first statewide race in 1984, winning the office of secretary of state. When he sought re-election fours years later, Blunt won his second term by a margin of more than 60 percent.

Blunt is the target of some criticism within his own party over his primary fight with Webster and the many campaign references to the attorney general's involvement in the Second Injury Fund scandal. Blunt is quick to defend his role in that campaign, saying his efforts to win a close primary were based on fact and didn't come close to the vitriolic messages used by Democrats in the general election.

If Blunt decides to enter the Republican gubernatorial primary in two years, he can expect some opposition from the Webster camp and the more conservative wing of the party. One possible candidate is former State Rep. David Steelman, now practicing law in Rolla. Steelman served as one of Webster's lawyers in the federal trial that led to his two-year prison term.

Another potential candidate is former State Treasurer Wendell Bailey, who has had some legal problems in the past and who may still face further Department of Justice action for alleged election irregularities. Bailey played the role of Blunt spoiler in the 1992 primary, and many observers felt his entry served to deflect votes that normally would have gone to Blunt.

Springfield Congressman Mel Hancock of Hancock amendment fame has also been mentioned as a potential gubernatorial candidate in 1996, although Hancock has thus far denied any political ambitions other than Congress.

Blunt is keeping silent counsel on how he views his potential candidacy in two years. One member of the Blunt family is less circumspect about a race in 1996, however. Blunt's wife, Roseann, is reportedly in favor of a second try at the executive office. Friends say she has voiced her support of a campaign on several occasions, particularly to those individuals who have expressed their own personal support of another effort in 1996.

Blunt's decision could be announced as early as Jan. 10, which will also be his 45th birthday.