Jim Talent
Jim Talent | |
|---|---|
Official Senate portrait | |
| United States Senator from Missouri | |
| In office November 23, 2002 – January 3, 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Jean Carnahan |
| Succeeded by | Claire McCaskill |
| Chair of the House Small Business Committee | |
| In office January 3, 1997 – January 3, 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Jan Meyers |
| Succeeded by | Don Manzullo |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri's 2nd district | |
| In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Joan Horn |
| Succeeded by | Todd Akin |
| Member of the Missouri House of Representatives from the 92nd district | |
| In office January 9, 1985 – January 6, 1993 | |
| Preceded by | Donna Ann Coleman |
| Succeeded by | David Klarich |
| Personal details | |
| Born | James Matthes Talent October 18, 1956 Des Peres, Missouri, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Brenda Lee Lyons (m. 1984) |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Washington University (BA) University of Chicago (JD) |
James Matthes Talent (born October 18, 1956) is an American politician who was a U.S. Senator from Missouri from 2002 to 2007. He is a Republican and resided in the St. Louis area while serving in elected office.
After serving for eight years in the U.S. House of Representatives and then working as a lobbyist, he ran for Governor of Missouri in 2000, losing to Democrat Bob Holden. Two years later, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, defeating Democrat Jean Carnahan in a special election to complete the term to which Carnahan's husband, Mel, had been elected posthumously in 2000. In the Democratic wave of November 2006, Talent lost his re-election bid to Claire McCaskill, 50% to 47%.
Talent, a senior adviser to Mitt Romney's 2008 presidential campaign, served as a member of Romney's 2012 economic policy team during the 2012 U.S. presidential campaign. Talent is a distinguished fellow at The Heritage Foundation and a member of the Defense Policy Board. He is also a co-chairman at Mercury, a Washington D.C. lobbying firm. Following Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 presidential election, Talent was rumored to be on the short list for United States Secretary of Defense, a position ultimately offered to James Mattis.