Retired military officer and civil engineer Bruce Bowman his campaign last week for the U.S. House seat from the 3rd Congressional District.
Bowman, of Jefferson City, is part of the field of now seven people who are vying for the seat being vacated by retiring U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-St. Elizabeth.
In a , Bowman said he wants to focus on revitalizing the state’s economy, supporting veterans, ensuring affordable health care and enforcing border security and legal immigration.
After retiring as a lieutenant colonel from the Army, Bowman taught engineering at several universities in the Washington, D.C., area.Â
The GOP race for the 3rd District seat, which spans from St. Charles County to the Lake of the Ozarks, is topped by several veterans of state legislative wars.
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The leading money-raiser in the GOP race is former state Sen. Bob Onder of Lake Saint Louis, who has taken in slightly more than $700,000, a total that includes a $500,000 loan he made to his own campaign.
In second place in the money race is former state Sen. Kurt Schaefer of Columbia, who has received about $118,000 in contributions. He also has secured the endorsement of outgoing incumbent Luetkemeyer.
Third on the list is state Rep. Justin Hicks of Lake Saint Louis, who has taken in about $45,000.
The other Republican candidates are Chadwick Bicknell, Kyle Bone and Arnie Dienoff.
The field would have been even bigger, had state Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman and Brandon Wilkinson had not already withdrawn from contention.
The 3rd District is heavily Republican, with the winner of the GOP primary on Aug. 6 likely to also win the Nov. 5 general election.
Bethany Mann and Andrew Daly have filed for the Democratic primary, and Jordan Rowden is a Libertarian who will appear on the November ballot.