Martin drops Mo. Senate bid to run for Congress

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Republican lawyer Ed Martin dropped out of the U.S. Senate race Monday and instead declared that he will run in a newly redrawn congressional district in suburban St. Louis.

Martin is the second Republican in two weeks to express an interest in the 2nd Congressional District -- an indication that the incumbent in that district, Republican Todd Akin, may be edging closer to launching a challenge of Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill.

The political shuffling comes less than a week after the Missouri Legislature overrode a veto by Gov. Jay Nixon to enact new congressional district boundaries based on the 2010 census. The new map, which will take effect with the 2012 elections, consolidates Missouri's nine current congressional districts into eight because the state's population growth lagged that of the nation. The new map also accounts for population shifts within the state, such as the continued exodus of residents from St. Louis to its outer suburbs.

Some of the biggest changes will occur in the St. Louis area, where the 3rd District held by Democrat Russ Carnahan is being eliminated and split among four other districts.

Martin, who lost a challenge to Carnahan in the 2010 election, had announced Jan. 31 that he was running for Senate -- making him the second Republican after former state treasurer Sarah Steelman to enter the race. He said Monday he changed course after seeing the boundaries for the new 2nd District.

When Martin ran for Congress last year, "it was out of concern for the direction of the county and what my wife and I call the 'rah, rah St. Louis, what's going on in the neighborhood,'" Martin said. "When the 2nd was redrawn, it has a lot of the people that were in my old 3rd (District). It just fits my personality and family."

One person not currently in the new 2nd District is Martin.

He said his home is located in the 1st District, about five blocks from the new boundary. Although members of Congress do not have to live in the district they represent, Martin said he plans to move into the 2nd District.

Martin's congressional announcement comes two weeks after former Missouri Republican Party Chairwoman Ann Wagner said she was setting up an exploratory committee for the 2nd Congressional District, in the likely event that Akin chooses not to seek re-election. Wagner also had previously considered the U.S. Senate race.

Akin said Monday he had talked with both Wagner and Martin and believes both are running on the assumption that he is not seeking re-election -- not with the intent to challenge him in a primary.

Carnahan spokesman Sara Howard confirmed Monday that Carnahan also is considering running in the new 2nd District. But she said Carnahan also is pondering a potential run for a statewide elected office, among other things.

"He's gathering a whole bunch of information and evaluating his options to make a decision on what to do next," Howard said.

The new 2nd Congressional District consists largely of St. Louis County, but also includes parts of St. Charles and Jefferson counties. Sixty-one percent of the residents in redrawn district already live within the current boundaries of the 2nd District.

About 28 percent of the residents will be coming from the current 3rd District represented by Carnahan.