Jim Talent

Jim Talent, born on October eighteenth, nineteen fifty-six, is a prominent American politician and lawyer who served as a U.S. senator from Missouri from two thousand two to two thousand seven. A member of the Republican Party, he resided in the St. Louis area during his tenure in elected office.

Before his time in the Senate, Talent spent eight years in the U.S. House of Representatives. Following this, he worked as a lobbyist and made an unsuccessful bid for Governor of Missouri in two thousand, losing to Democrat Bob Holden. In two thousand four, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, defeating Democrat Jean Carnahan in a special election to complete the term of her late husband, Mel Carnahan.

Talent's Senate career came to an end in the Democratic wave of November two thousand six, when he lost his re-election bid to Claire McCaskill by a narrow margin of fifty percent to forty-seven percent. After his Senate term, he became a senior adviser to Mitt Romney's presidential campaign in two thousand eight and served on Romney's economic policy team during the two thousand twelve campaign.

In addition to his political endeavors, Talent is a distinguished fellow at The Heritage Foundation and a member of the Defense Policy Board. He also co-chairs Mercury, a lobbying firm based in Washington D.C. Following Donald Trump's victory in the two thousand sixteen presidential election, he was rumored to be a candidate for the position of United States Secretary of Defense, a role that ultimately went to James Mattis.