Mo. party switcher faces tough new foe in Dem. AG primary ballot (R to D)

[UpInArms]

Source: Legal Newsline

JEFFERSON CITY -- Being attorney gof Missouri is such a sweet gig that one Show-Me state senator figures it's even worth changing parties to take a crack at.

Republican State Sen. Chris Koster of Harrisonville will announce today that he intends to switch parties, Jefferson City media sources revealed yesterday. Koster first announced a bid for the Republican nomination as attorney general five months ago.

He will now face another rising star, Democratic House Minority Leader Jeff Harris, for the Democratic nomination to replace Jay Nixon, who's running for governor. Harris raised $170,484 in the first half of 2007, LNL reported last week.

State Rep. Margaret Donnelly also joined the Democratic race two weeks ago despite conceding Harris a huge cash lead. The suburban St. Louis lawyer, first elected in 2002, had just $33,000 in the campaign account compared to Harris's $299,133.

Read more: http://www.legalnewsline.com/news/198659-mo.-party-switcher-faces-tough-new-foe-in-dem.-ag-primary-ballot

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Yes!

editing to add another link:

http://publicbroadcasting.net/kwmu/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1123194§ionID=1

today (Wednesday) he's switching parties so he can run for Missouri Attorney General as a Democrat.

Chris Koster has resigned as majority caucus chairman in the Senate, and he's been referring questions to a former campaign staffer for Democratic U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill.

Koster says he's more aligned with Democrats than Republicans on several issues -- stem cell research, workers' rights, minimum wage and leaving intact Missouri's current judiciary system.

"Today, Republican moderates are all but extinct," he said.

Koster stopped short of declaring his intent to run for attorney general, but he has formed a campaign committee for an unspecified statewide office in 2008.

He said he does not intend to seek re-election in the Senate.

...more...

[Doctor_J]

1. Good news

Sounds like the stranglehold of hate radio and Big Media is being loosened, at least in some placees.

[swag]

2. GOP state senator appears ready to switch parties

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

JEFFERSON CITY — Chris Koster, a Republican state senator and champion of stem cell research, is expected to announce today that he is switching to the Democratic Party.

Koster, a candidate for attorney general next year, will hold news conferences in Columbia, Harrisonville and St. Louis. In a news release, he promised "a speech that may transform the political landscape of Missouri."

Koster, of Harrisonville near Kansas City, resigned late Tuesday as chairman of the Senate Republican Caucus. His resignation letter, hand-delivered by Koster's secretary to the office of Senate President Pro Tem Mike Gibbons, gave no explanation.

Koster's campaign spokeswoman, Elisabeth Smith, would not confirm that he is leaving the GOP. But Smith's association with Koster was itself a signal: Smith worked for U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Democrat, in the 2006 campaign.


Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/politics/story/D8888872BD5B412E8625732A0013725D?OpenDocument

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via Firedoglake

[Innoma]

3. Looks like he already did...

"At a news conference in Columbia, he said the GOP's social agenda was controlled by the far right. He cited the party's opposition to embryonic stem cell research and recent attacks on the nonpartisan court plan as the main reasons for his defection."

(An update of the story from the same site)

[swag]

4. Thanks.

And I also unwittingly duped this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2937730

[Innoma]

5. Hey, who knows...

maybe one day Lieberman will switch to the Democratic party too! }(

[katsy]

6. Maybe after '08...

We can give this con man the boot!