From 1996–2008, southwest Missouri voters elected Roy Blunt seven times to the U.S. House of Representatives before state voters elected him to the U.S. Senate in 2010. Blunt was chosen by his House colleagues to serve as majority whip and Republican whip three times. Before serving in Congress, he worked as a history teacher, Greene County clerk and Missouri secretary of state. Blunt, who holds a master’s degree in history from Missouri State University, served four years as the president of his alma mater, Southwest Baptist University. In December 2006, the MSU Board of Governors named the Jordan Valley Innovation Center in honor of Blunt’s work to provide federal funding for the facility. Blunt, who has been known for his work to bring federal dollars to the area, is said to have requested $153 million in earmarks as a member of Congress in fiscal 2010.
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