HANNIBAL MAN RUNS FOR U.S. SENATE

Steven R. Carroll has formally announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated in by John Danforth.

Carroll, a Missouri state representative (D-Hannibal), announced his decision to seek the Senate post Friday at the University of Missouri Law School, where he graduated in 1989.

Carroll made a campaign swing into Southeast Missouri Saturday, with stops at Cape Girardeau and Poplar Bluff.

Carroll said he would focus on economic development, crime and health care in his campaign.

Carroll expressed his feelings about the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). "I'm opposed to NAFTA, he said. "We feel we need to export more products to Mexico, not jobs"

At least three other Democrats have been mentioned as possible candidates for the seat being vacated by Danforth, a Republican who is retiring when his term expires in 1995.

They are U.S. Rep. Alan Wheat of Kansas City, Jackson County Executive Marsha Murphy and Geri Rothman-Serot, who was the party's candidate last year in a failed attempt to unseat Republican Sen. Christopher Bond.

Carroll said he plans to travel to Washington within the next few weeks to meet with President Clinton's staff to discuss campaign issues.

Carroll, 37, was first elected to the Missouri House in 1984. He was born in Chico, Calif., but attended public schools in Monroe City, Mo., and graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia, with a B.S. in Agriculture. He later received a law degree from Missouri, and joined a law firm in Hannibal.

He is a farmer and businessman -- partner in a Monroe City seed firm.

The filing period for candidates in the August primary begins Feb. 22 and ends March 29.

Eighth District U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson (R-Cape Girardeau) considered running for the position, but decided against it, apparently leaving former governor John Ashcroft without a serious challenger in the Republican primary for the Senate seat in August of 1994.