Steelman makes nice with Hulshof, GOP
After a long silence, State Treasurer Sarah Steelman endorsed her former primary opponent and current Republican gubernatorial nominee U.S. Rep. Kenny Hulshof, and also voiced her support for the GOP presidential ticket, in a statement released Sept. 9.
The statement was posted on the Columbia Daily Tribune's Politcs Blog and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Political Fix:
"It is clear that Sen. John McCain, and his vice presidential running mate Gov. Sarah Palin, have set a tone of change for the Republican Party by putting the people of this country first and putting principle over politics. This is great news for the people of this country.
"In Missouri, we had a hard-fought primary for governor about many of the same issues that Sen. McCain and Gov. Palin support. It is time to come together to work hard for our common goal of moving Missouri forward, not for the sake of an election, but for making a better future for Missouri families.
"I am and have always been a conservative Republican. I believe in conservative values, limited government, personal and economic freedom and fiscal responsibility. I look forward to supporting Sen. McCain, Gov. Palin, Congressman Kenny Hulshof and other Missouri Republicans on the issues that are going to make a difference to every Missouri family."
While her mention of Hulshof in the statement could hardly be considererd a "glowing endorsement", it is her first public annoucement made in support of the Hulshof campaign.
Steelman and Hulshof had a private meeting shortly after the Aug. 5 primaries, in which Hulshof beat Steelman for the Republican nomination with less than five percent of the vote.
The race between the two had been especially brutal -- the candidates frequently took jabs at each other over everything from the state's ethanol mandate to Hulshof's support of a perscription drug bill in Congress that, allegedly, would have made Viagra available for sex offenders.