THREE DEMOCRATS FILE IN HOPES OF GETTING EMERSON'S SEAT

Three men filed Tuesday as Democratic candidates for the 8th District congressional seat, including Gipsy resident Richard Kline, who ran as a Republican two years ago.

U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, was the lone Republican to file at the secretary of state's office in Jefferson City on the first day of filing.

Emerson, 47, is seeking re-election to a second term.

She succeeded her late husband, Bill, the district's longtime congressman who died of lung cancer in June 1996.

"I love my job, and I want to continue the good, common-sense conservative representation that I hope Bill and I both provided for the district," she said.

Emerson said she plans to concentrate on her legislative duties for now.

"I am going to worry about the election and politicking after I know who my opponent is going to be," she said.

"My main commitment is on following through with my commitment to listen to the folks," she said.

Besides Kline, Democrats who filed were former music store owner and perennial candidate Thad Bullock of Cape Girardeau and Anthony J. Heckemeyer of Sikeston.

Heckemeyer resigned as circuit judge in Scott and Mississippi counties to run for Congress. He officially submitted his resignation to Gov. Mel Carnahan's office Tuesday.

Heckemeyer said he expects to spend $750,000 to $1 million in his election campaign.

He has accused Emerson of being little more than a figurehead. The real work is done by her staff, Heckemeyer has said.

But Emerson said Tuesday that she is the one who casts the votes.

She said she couldn't represent more than 600,000 constituents in 26 counties without the help of competent staff. "I am blessed with a fabulous staff," she said.

"I am also very proud, quite frankly, of the job I have done so far," said Emerson.

When filing for the Aug. 4 primaries opened at 8 a.m., the line of candidates for state and federal offices extended down a long corridor in the Missouri State Information Center.

Some of the first-day filers began assembling before dawn. Kline was the first to arrive.

Kline ran as a Republican two years ago, winning the primary election. The primary occurred several weeks after Bill Emerson died.

Kline is running as a Democrat because he is upset that the Missouri Republican Party didn't support him as the party's nominee after he won the 1996 August primary.

The GOP backed Jo Ann Emerson, who ran as an independent.

Kline received more than 14,000 votes in a field of five candidates in the November 1996 election.

Last April he ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Zalma school board. He received 13 votes in that election.

Last March Kline said he was "mentally and physically exhausted" from the congressional campaign. But he said he had enjoyed running for Congress.

Kline defended his action Tuesday in deciding to switch parties and run again for Congress.

"I'm a Christian and pro-life," Kline said Tuesday. "The Democratic Party represents as many Christians as the Republican Party. But there are more Democrats than Republicans."

Kline received more than 14,000 votes in the November 1996 election.

Bullock is running for Congress for the ninth time. He ran in 1968 and in every 8th District election since 1984.

In 1992, he won the Democratic primary in a field of six candidates. He lost to Bill Emerson in the November election.

Bullock operated a Cape Girardeau piano store for 40 years before closing it in 1991. He owns the vacant Marquette Hotel, which has been up for sale for years.

Cape Girardeau resident Andrew Ostrowski, who managed Kline's 1996 campaign, filed Tuesday as a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate.

Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon is the leading Democratic candidate in that race. Also filing on the Democratic side was St. Louis truck driver James Askew, who ran unsuccessfully four times for secretary of state.

Ostrowski said he lives on his savings and considers his candidacy his job. He described himself as a single-issue candidate.

"Jay Nixon is a pro-abortion candidate, and I am a staunch pro-life person," he said.

Ostrowski, who once considered becoming a priest, said he wants Nixon to debate him.

A Democratic primary battle has surfaced for state representative in the 159th District with two candidates filing Tuesday.

Rep. Marilyn Williams of Dudley filed for re-election. She has represented the 159th District since winning a special election in 1991. She is challenged by Forrest Jackson of Bloomfield.

State Reps. Mark Richardson and Bill Foster of Poplar Bluff, Patrick Naeger of Perryville, Joe Heckemeyer of Sikeston and Larry Thomason of Kennett filed for re-election. Richardson, Foster and Naeger are Republicans. Heckemeyer and Thomason are Democrats.

Farmington resident Ed Doughty filed as a Republican candidate for the District 20 state Senate seat held by Democrat Danny Staples of Eminence.

Staples has announced he will seek re-election to the seat he has held since 1982.

Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press.