Roy Blunt : Net Worth, Family, Wife, Education, Children, Age, Biography and Political Career

Roy Dean Blunt is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator for Missouri, serving since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a member of the United States House of Representatives and as Missouri Secretary of State.

Born in Niangua, Missouri, Blunt is a graduate of Southwest Baptist University and Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State University). After serving as Missouri Secretary of State from 1985 to 1993, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for Missouris 7th congressional district in 1996. There, he served as Republican Whip from 2003 to 2009.

Blunt successfully ran for United States Senate in 2010. The following year, he was elected vice chairman of the Senate Republican Conference. Blunt is the dean of Missouris Congressional delegation, and was elected to serve as Policy Committee chairman in November 2018. On March 8, 2021, he announced that he will not seek reelection in 2022.

He earned a B.A. degree in history in 1970 from Southwest Baptist University.

During his time in college, he received three draft deferments from the Vietnam War. Two years later, he earned a masters degree in history from Southwest Missouri State University. Blunt was a high school history teacher at Marshfield High School from 1970 to 1972, and later taught at Southwest Baptist University and as a member of the adjunct faculty at Drury University.

He went on to serve as president of Southwest Baptist University, his alma mater, from 1993 to 1996.

Roy Blunt Net Worth

Roy Blunt Net Worth is $ 4 Million in 2021.

Roy Blunt Family

Blunt was born on January 10, 1950, in Niangua, Missouri, the son of Neva Dora and Leroy Blunt, a politician.

Blunt has been married twice. He married Roseann Ray in May 1967, and had three children with her: Matt, the former governor of Missouri, Amy Blunt Mosby and Andrew Blunt. All three children are corporate lobbyists.

Blunt married Abigail Perlman, a lobbyist for Kraft Foods and Philip Morris, in 2003. In April 2006, he and Perlman adopted Charlie Blunt, an 18-month-old boy from Russia. The family lives in Washington, D.C., and also own a condo in Springfield, Missouri. Roy Blunt has six grandchildren. He is a practicing Southern Baptist.

Roy Blunt Wife and Children

Blunt has been married twice. He married Roseann Ray in May 1967, and had three children with her: Matt, the former governor of Missouri, Amy Blunt Mosby and Andrew Blunt. All three children are corporate lobbyists.

Blunt married Abigail Perlman, a lobbyist for Kraft Foods and Philip Morris, in 2003. In April 2006, he and Perlman adopted Charlie Blunt, an 18-month-old boy from Russia. The family lives in Washington, D.C., and also own a condo in Springfield, Missouri. Roy Blunt has six grandchildren. He is a practicing Southern Baptist.

Roy Blunt Career and Achievement

Political Career (1972–1997)

Greene County Clerk

Blunt entered politics in 1973, when he was appointed county clerk and chief election official of Greene County, Missouri. He was subsequently elected to the position three times and served a total of 12 years.

1980 Lieutenant Gubernatorial Election

In 1980 incumbent Republican Lieutenant Governor Bill Phelps ran for governor. Blunt, the Greene County Clerk, decided to run for the open seat and won the Republican primary, but lost the general election to State Representative Ken Rothman 56%–44%.

Secretary of State

In 1984, after incumbent Democratic Missouri Secretary of State James Kirkpatrick decided to retire, Blunt ran for the position and won the Republican primary with 79% of the vote. In the general election, he defeated Democratic State Representative Gary D. Sharpe 54%–46%. He became the first Republican to hold the post in 50 years.

In 1988, he won reelection against Democrat James Askew 61%–38%.

1992 Gubernatorial Election

Since incumbent Republican Governor John Ashcroft was term-limited, Blunt ran for the governorship in 1992. Missouri Attorney General William Webster won the Republican primary, defeating Blunt and Missouri Treasurer Wendell Bailey 44%–40%–15%. Webster lost the general election to Mel Carnahan.

U.S. House of Representatives (1997–2011)

Elections

In 1996 Blunt decided to run for the United States House of Representatives after incumbent U.S. Representative Mel Hancock honored his pledge to serve only four terms. Blunt ran in Missouris 7th congressional district, the states most conservative district, in the Ozark Mountains in the southwest. Blunts political action committee is the Rely on Your Beliefs Fund.

On August 6, 1996, he won the Republican primary, defeating Gary Nodler 56%–44%. In the general election, he defeated Democrat Ruth Bamberger 65%–32%.

Tenure

Education

Blunt voted in favor of school prayer and supported the No Child Left Behind Act. He voted in favor of school vouchers within the District of Columbia but against broader legislation allowing states to use federal money to issue vouchers for private or religious schools. He received a 17% rating from the National Education Association in 2003.

Fiscal Issues

Blunt received a 97% rating from the United States Chamber of Commerce. He supported efforts to overhaul U.S. bankruptcy laws, requiring consumers who seek bankruptcy protection to repay more of their debts.

Blunt opposes federal cap and trade legislation and supports drilling for oil on the U.S. coastline. He does not believe in man-made global warming, stating: "There isnt any real science to say we are altering the climate or path of the Earth."

Gun Policy

Blunt voted to prohibit lawsuits against gun manufacturers and dealers if the guns they manufacture or sell are later used in a crime. He has also voted to require anyone who purchases a gun at a gun show to go through a background check that must be completed within 24 hours. He has received an "A" rating from the National Rifle Association.

Health Policy

Blunt chaired the House Republican Health Care Solutions Group.

In 2006, Blunt successfully advocated for legislation that placed restrictions on over-the-counter cold medicines that could be used in the production of methamphetamines. The legislation, called the Combat Meth Act, was opposed by retail and drug lobbyists.

In August 2009, Blunt stated in two separate newspaper interviews that, because he was 59 years old, "In either Canada or Great Britain, if I broke my hip, I couldnt get it replaced." He stated he had heard the statement in Congressional testimony by "some people who are supposed to be experts on Canadian health care." The PolitiFact service of the St. Petersburg Times reported that it could not find any such testimony.

In 2012, Blunt attempted to add an amendment to a highway funding bill that would allow employers to refuse to provide health insurance for birth control and contraceptives. In a press release, Blunt defended the amendment on the grounds that it protected the First Amendment rights of religious employers; the amendment failed, with 51 senators voting against it.

Minimum Wage

Blunt voted against HR 2007-018, which raised the federal minimum wage to $7.25 per hour.

Social Issues

He has voted to ban partial-birth abortions and to restrict or criminalize transporting minors across state lines for the purpose of getting an abortion. He opposes federal funding for elective abortions in accordance with the Hyde Amendment.

He voted in favor of the unsuccessful Federal Marriage Amendment which sought to place a national ban on same-sex marriage, and has voted against gay adoption. He received 94% lifetime and 96% 2004 ratings from the conservative American Conservative Union, a 14% rating from the ACLU, and a 92% rating from the conservative Christian Coalition. In 2013 Blunt voted against Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would have outlawed employer discrimination based on sexuality or gender identity.

Social Security and Medicare

In 2005, Blunt supported President George W. Bushs proposal to partially privatize Social Security for those under the age of 55.

In 2016 AARP said of Blunt, "He said in 2010 that he remained open to the idea of individual Social Security accounts. His position hasnt changed, but he has maintained for years that its not a viable issue for anyone."

Leadership

After only one term, Blunt was appointed Chief Deputy Whip, the highest appointed position in the House Republican Caucus. In that capacity, he served as the Republicans chief vote-counter. In 2002, when Dick Armey retired and fellow Texan Tom DeLay was elected to succeed him, Blunt was elected to succeed DeLay as House Majority Whip.

Blunt served as Majority Leader on an acting basis starting in September 2005, after DeLay was indicted on felony charges involving campaign finance. On January 8, 2006, one day after DeLay announced that he would not seek to regain his position, Blunt announced he would run to permanently replace DeLay.

On January 14, 2006, Blunt issued a release claiming that the majority of the Republican caucus had endorsed him as DeLays successor. But when the election was held by secret ballot on February 2, 2006, U.S. Representative John Boehner of Ohio won on the second ballot, with 122 votes to 109 for Blunt. In November 2006, House Republicans elected Blunt to their second-highest position during the 110th Congress, Minority Whip. Blunt handily defeated U.S. Representative John Shadegg of Arizona for the position. He announced he would step down from the position in late 2008, following two successive election cycles where House Republicans had lost seats, avoiding a difficult battle with his deputy, Eric Cantor, who was urged by some to challenge Blunt for the position.

Committee Assignments

Upon entering the U.S. House, Blunt served on the House International Relations Committee, the House Committee on Agriculture, and the House Transportation Committee. In 1999, he gave up seats on the latter two committees and joined the Committee on Energy and Commerce. In addition he became a member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

U.S. Senate (2011–Present)

2010 Election

On February 19, 2009, Blunt announced he would seek the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate election for the seat being vacated by incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Kit Bond. He successfully ran against Democratic nominee Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, Constitution Party nominee Jerry Beck, Libertarian nominee Jonathan Dine, and write-in candidates Mark S. Memoly, Frazier Miller, Jeff Wirick and Richie L. Wolfe.

Tenure

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Blunt "has one of the Senates most conservative voting records, yet he generally avoids the confrontational, firebrand style" and during his tenure in the U.S. Senate "Blunts most significant legislative accomplishments all had Democrat co-sponsors." The Lugar Center and Georgetowns McCourt School of Public Policys Bipartisan Index ranked Blunt the 11th most bipartisan senator in the first session of the 115th United States Congress.

Blunt was at the U.S. Capitol when Trump supporters stormed it on January 6, 2021, serving as a teller for the 2021 United States Electoral College vote count certification, alongside Senator Amy Klobuchar, Representative Rodney Davis, and Representative Zoe Lofgren. Before the certification, Blunt said he would support the certification of the election, in contrast to his fellow Missouri senator Josh Hawley. While Blunt observed the deliberations over the objection to counting Arizonas votes, led by Ted Cruz, the Capitol was breached. Along with other senators, Blunt was removed from the Senate floor to an undisclosed location as the insurrectionists moved closer to the Senate chambers. He tweeted during the attack that the "violence and destruction" needed to stop and that "This is not who we are as a nation." Blunt stated that Trump "was a part of it", referring to the insurrection.

In the wake of the attack, Blunt said he would not support impeaching Trump and that there was "no time" to do so. He also called it a "disappointment" that Democrats were considering impeachment. In an interview with Face the Nation, Blunt said, "the president touched the hot stove on Wednesday and is unlikely to touch it again."

As master of ceremonies for the inauguration of Joe Biden as president, Blunt delivered a short speech expounding the Constitutions Preamble, noting that unlike the Articles of Confederation or the Magna Carta, it roots and establishes law and authority in "We the People". Blunt remarked that the endeavor to create a "more perfect Union" is a continuing project and said, "we are more than we have been and we are less than we hope to be".

2020 Presidential Election

On November 6, 2020, while Chair of the Senate Republican Policy Committee and the fourth-ranking Republican in the Senate, Blunt said Trump "should turn this discussion over to his lawyers" and "you cant stop the count in one state and decide you want the count to continue in another state. That might be how youd like to see the system work but thats not how the system works." The previous night, Trump had alleged that Democrats were "stealing" the election.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch published an editorial criticizing Blunt and Senator Josh Hawley for not distancing themselves from the January 6, 2021 storming of the United States Capitol and their continued support for Trump. Both senators voted for acquittal in Trumps second impeachment trial.