JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Former state Sen. Ed Emery is eyeing a new political office: Congress.
The Republican who served in both chambers in the General Assembly announced his candidacy for the 4th congressional district a day after Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler officially jumped into the U.S. Senate race.
“It is not ambition that drives me, but what I see as the clear abandonment at the federal level of Biblical principles, national heritage, common sense, and the values that have made America great,” Emery said in his announcement. “The contempt for the truth and the perversion of justice must not go on.”
“If, as a nation, we are to continue to enjoy the immeasurable blessings God has poured out from our country’s [earliest] and miraculous beginnings there must be a return to those freedoms and eternal truths that have born us this far,” he continued.
The district spans a large and diverse swath of Missouri, from the Columbia area sweeping west to just below Kansas City and down to Pittsburg and Lebanon, settling north of Springfield. Emery represented SD 31 on the western side of the state which includes Barton, Bates, Cass, Henry, and Vernon counties.
From Vernon County, Emery served four terms in the House before moving across the building. He chaired the House Utilities Committee as well as the Special Committee on Immigration Reform.
Emery is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Rolla and worked in the oil and gas industry, making him a natural fit to champion utility issues while in the General Assembly.
Sen. Rick Brattin replaced Emery in the Senate after he termed out.
Kaitlyn Schallhorn was the editor in chief of The Missouri Times from 2020-2022. She joined the newspaper in early 2019 after working as a reporter for Fox News in New York City.
Throughout her career, Kaitlyn has covered political campaigns across the U.S., including the 2016 presidential election, and humanitarian aid efforts in Africa and the Middle East.
She is a native of Missouri who studied journalism at Winthrop University in South Carolina. She is also an alumna of the National Journalism Center in Washington, D.C.
Contact Kaitlyn at kaitlyn@themissouritimes.com.
