Brandom to run for Crowell's Missouri Senate seat

Ellen Brandom is in. The Republican representative from Sikeston, Mo., said Thursday she will run for Jason Crowell's seat in the Missouri Senate next year, making her the first official candidate for the 27th District.

Brandom said she will hold a news conference at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Drury Lodge in Cape Girardeau but offered no other details.

"On Saturday, I'll be happy to answer all your questions," she said.

Brandom had been mulling the 2012 run for some time and acknowledged she was considering it in April. Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, is finishing his second four-year term and will be forced out by term limits. Missouri's 27th Senatorial District covers Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Madison, Mississippi, Perry and Scott counties.

Brandom was elected to the Missouri House in 2006 as a political newcomer, where she has represented the 160th District, covering western Scott County and a small portion of southern Cape Girardeau County. Brandom is not term-limited out of her House seat until 2014.

Prominent Republican Kathy Swan, who has worked on several GOP campaigns, said she is supporting Brandom and thinks she is well suited to the job.

"She's been in the legislature, so she's seasoned, she knows the issues at hand and she knows how to get things passed," said Swan, who is also a member of the Cape Girardeau City Council. "I truly think she is well prepared at this point, and I believe she will do a great job."

The election is more than a year away, with the primary Aug. 7, 2012, followed by the general election Nov. 6, but Brandom already has a financial advantage for both. The Friends of Ellen Brandom campaign committee filed a quarterly report with the Missouri Ethics Commission on April 15 that shows Brandom raised $31,722 in cash from Nov. 28 through March 21, which gave her $71,287 cash on hand. Since April, reports show eight single $1,000 contributions from Sikeston residents and business owners. One was from RightChoice Managed Care Inc., a health care benefits group.

Mark Baker, a member and past president of the Cape Girardeau County Democrats, said he doesn't see that as an insurmountable obstacle if the right Democratic candidate is found to run against her.

"I can't recall any significant piece of legislation that she's introduced that is supportive of working men and women," he said. "She might be a nice lady and that's fine, but I'm looking for somebody who's not more of the status quo."

Baker acknowledged that getting a Democratic candidate elected would be a challenge, especially with the district anchored by Cape Girardeau County, a GOP stronghold that has only supported one statewide Democratic candidate in the past 12 years.

"But at some point people are going to realize that nothing's changing and we keep electing the same people," Baker said.

While he hasn't heard of any Democrats who are seeking to run, he was optimistic one would step forward to face Brandom or any other Republican candidate for the seat.

smoyers@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

Jefferson City, MO

Sikeston, MO