With pass on Senate bid, Smith hopes to serve as ‘strong voice’ in aim for Ways and Means chairman

Eighth District U.S. Rep. Jason Smith quelled long-standing speculation Wednesday on whether he planned to run for Missouri’s soon-open U.S. Senate seat.

The country faces too many issues, from inflation to COVID-19, for Smith to narrow his focus on a campaign for U.S. Senate, he said.

“We cannot wait until the next election; we have to continue to fight now,” Smith said. “I’m not going to be distracted by some campaign.”

Instead, Smith, the ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee, will seek a sixth term as representative of Missouri’s southeastern congressional district.

“The people of Southeast Missouri have believed in me for several years,” Smith said. “They sent me to Washington to fight for them, and that is what I’m doing and what I will continue to do.”

The representative also set his sights on becoming the next Republican chairman of the chief tax-writing committee of the U.S. House of Representatives, the House Ways and Means Committee. Smith has served on the committee for eight years.

The powerful Ways and Means Committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs and other revenue-generating measures. Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance are also under Ways and Means’ purview.

With the committee’s vast jurisdiction, Smith said he felt he would make more of an impact as its chairman than as a senator.

“I feel like it’s a duty I owe to the people who hired me, the people of Southeast Missouri and the people of all of Missouri, to make sure they have a strong voice leading on issues of tax policy, leading on issues that help protect working class men and women,” Smith said.

Ways and Means has never had a chair from Missouri, according to Smith.

Two other Republican hopefuls, Rep. Vern Buchanon (R-Fla.) and Adrian Smith (R-Neb.), are also vying to become chairman of the committee. The committee’s current top Republican, Kevin Brady, announced in April his plan to retire.

Speculation that Smith would launch a bid to replace current Sen. Roy Blunt has circled for the past year. He hosted a fundraiser at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida last April and hired Bill Stepien, Trump’s former campaign manager.

However, the race has attracted several Republican candidates so far, including Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, former Gov. Eric Greitens and U.S. Reps. Vicky Hartzler and Billy Long.

When asked whether any candidates have his support, Smith said he’ll look at who has officially filed after filing opens Feb. 22.

“We need to stop worrying about what office someone will hold next,” Smith said. “We need to focus on the issues that are facing Americans right now.”

Smith posted a video announcing his decision to his campaign's social media account.