State treasurer close to announcing Senate run against Kit Bond

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Democratic State Treasurer Nancy Farmer is days away from announcing her intentions on a potential challenge to Republican U.S. Sen. Kit Bond, her campaign manager said Friday.

"She is really close to making a decision," said Farmer's campaign manager, Judi Roman. "It will be a decision that makes a lot of people happy."

Farmer said in March she was running for re-election as state treasurer and not for the Senate.

But the Democratic Party has struggled to find a strong candidate to run against Bond in 2004. After State Auditor Claire McCaskill and Lt. Gov. Joe Maxwell decided against the race, party leaders stepped up their lobbying effort for Farmer.

In recent weeks, Farmer has been meeting with party officials from Washington and Missouri, as well as with potential political contributors, and has been getting a "very, very positive response" on a Senate run, Roman said. Farmer was flying to San Francisco on Saturday to meet with more possible supporters, she said.

Roman said Farmer was not available for an interview Friday. But state Democratic Party officials were praising Farmers' qualities as a potential Senate candidate.

State Democratic Party spokesman Mike Kelley said the Senate race was "something she is considering strongly."

"I think if Nancy Farmer got in, the party would probably quickly line up behind her," Kelley said. "I don't anticipate us having a primary between two heavily known candidates."

Political newcomer Charles E. Berry, a St. Louis lawyer, already is in the Democratic Senate race but has raised little money. Democratic state Sen. Ken Jacob of Columbia also has considered a U.S. Senate run.

In finance reports filed earlier this week, Bond reported that he had doubled his campaign account in the past three months and had more than $2.8 million on hand. Bond's available cash surpasses that of all previous Missouri Senate candidates at this point in the election cycle, his campaign said.

Bond's campaign referred questions about a potential challenge from Farmer to state Republican Party spokesman Scott Baker, who said the GOP isn't too concerned about any of the potential candidates mentioned by Democrats, including Farmer.

"She has little to no name recognition, and what she is going to be known for is being the state treasurer during a terrible financial time for the state," Baker said. "That's not exactly a glowing record."