Former Missouri Gov. and U.S. Sen. Kit Bond, one of the most influential state Republicans of the modern era, died Tuesday. He was 86.
Gov. Mike Kehoe announced Bond's death, calling him "a skilled statesman, public servant, and a man who truly loved Missouri."
"I am blessed to have known Kit and honored to call him a friend and a mentor," Kehoe said.
A native of Mexico, Missouri, Bond served as state auditor, two nonconsecutive terms as governor and four terms in the U.S. Senate. He retired in 2011, telling members of the Missouri House at the time that he came into state government as the youngest governor and didn't want to leave as the oldest senator.
As he explained during a 2015 episode of Politically Speaking, Bond's family had deep connections to Missouri politics. His great, great, great, great grandfather, Joseph Bogy, represented Ste. Genevieve in the Missouri legislature in the 1800s. His grandfather, Sam Bond, ran for and lost a bitter congressional contest.
"And my grandmother wanted dad to stay out of politics, so he stayed out of politics," Bond said. "But his interest never waned. So I talked politics, studied politics, tried practicing law for a while."
Bond, a graduate of Princeton University, was first in his class at the University of Virginia Law School. He worked for Judge Albert Tuttle, who played a major role in expanding civil rights throughout the southern U.S. After three years of working in Washington, D.C., he unsuccessfully ran against incumbent U.S. Rep. Bill Hungate.
But Bond eventually bounced back two years later and became state auditor. And in 1972, he became the first Republican to win the governorship since 1940. Still, that race wasn't entirely smooth, as his rival accused him of not meeting the residency requirement to hold the office.
The Missouri Supreme Court ruled 5-2 in his favor and Bond said that he "was, and has been… a Missourian."
1976 a key turning point for Bond
In some respects, Bond was considered a moderate during his first term as governor. He supported things like overhauling campaign finance regulations and was in favor of the Equal Rights Amendment.
Bond said his main focus during his first term was reorganizing state government, but added he "goofed up" by being too distracted by other pursuits – such as trying to get Bill Phelps elected lieutenant governor.
In 1976, Bond ended up losing reelection to Jackson County Prosecutor Joe Teasdale, something he attributes partly to how well Jimmy Carter did in Missouri.
"The people who were supposedly helping me run my campaign were running Gerald Ford's campaign," Bond said. "They told Gerald Ford to move the St. Louis airport to Columbia, Illinois. And so, at the end of the campaign, they said Bond's got Missouri on the move to Illinois. And they didn't think I was in trouble. I saw I was in trouble, but I couldn't respond."
Four years later though, Bond won the governorship back. He said he worked fairly cohesively with the legislature, which at the time contained overwhelming Democratic majorities.
"You sit down, talk with them, you listen to them," Bond said. "That's what I've done throughout my career. I went around, sat in their offices, had them over to the mansion, went out and drank beer with them after the session. And that's when we got a lot of work done."
Bond was term-limited out of the governorship in 1984. But he made a political comeback in 1986 when he won a hotly-contested race against Lt. Gov. Harriett Woods to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Tom Eagleton.
He attributed his win in 1986 to "a great statewide organization we call the Bond Organization, or the Bond Brigade."
"Some people accused us of having a machine, and I'd like to think we were guilty of that,Bond said. "But I was a couple points behind in the polls on that weekend before, but agreed with my advisors that our Bond organization would turn out the votes."
"It was a cliffhanger," he added.
Service in the Senate
Some observers said Bond moved to the right as his service continued in the U.S. Senate. During George W. Bush's administration, Bond backed the GOP chief executive's tax cut proposals.
"I don't think I changed," Bond said. "I listened to the people of Missouri and tried to do what was right. The split between Democrats and Republicans is far more pronounced in Washington than in Jefferson City. In Jefferson City, I felt I was part of the mainstream, and certainly in Washington, I was more mainstream than right wing because I did a whole lot of things that certainly wouldn't be considered conservative."
Bond was a defender of Bush's decision to invade Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, as well as the invasion of Iraq in 2003. His son, Samuel Bond, served as a Marine during the Iraq War.
"It was really draining to send people into battle. And then when Sam went in, I sucked it up," Bond said. "But I found out what other family members experienced. Because our clock radio would go off at six in the morning. and Washington [news] would start off three Marines killed in Iraq today. I'd sit up straight in bed. And that's what other families of servicemen and servicewomen face."
As a senator, Bond became well known for securing money for Missouri and was a consistent defender of the earmarking process. That's when lawmakers direct federal money to go to specific projects throughout their districts or states.
He also worked with Missouri developers on expanding the availability of housing throughout the state. And he played a major role in expanding the Parents as Teachers program statewide.
He said getting rid of earmarks was "one of the stupidest ideas that came out of the Republicans in the House," primarily because it transferred too much power to the executive branch.
"I saw too many instances where the bureaucrats in Washington didn't know what the problems were in Missouri," Bond said. "So I fought hard."
After Bond retired in 2011, he joined the Thompson Coburn Law Firm. He also started Kit Bond Strategies, a lobbying firm that now includes former legislators like Missouri Congressman Kenny Hulshof and Illinois Congressman John Shimkus.
Bond is survived by his wife, Linda Bond, and his son, Samj. Funeral arrangements are pending.
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