State Rep. Dan Shaul wants to keep it going.
Shaul (R-Imperial) announced March 22 that he plans to run for the 22nd District seat in the state Senate in the 2022 election.
He said he will run for his party’s nomination in August for the seat currently held by Paul Wieland, who is not allowed to run for a third four-year term because of the state’s term limits.
Shaul is similarly prohibited from running for a fifth two-year term in the state House.
“The reason I want to run for the Senate is I want to continue to serve Jefferson County and the state of Missouri. I will have completed eight years in the House, and I think the next logical step is the Senate if you want to continue to serve. I think the experience I gained in the House will be an asset moving to the Senate.”
Shaul, 52, said while members of the Senate tend to “look at things differently” than their counterparts in the House, the basics of public service still ring true.
“The thing I want to do is stay focused on what I’ve done for the eight years in the House, working for honesty and integrity and Jefferson County values. I think people in Jefferson County want good-paying jobs, less government in their lives and good education. I plan to work for those things in the Senate as I’ve worked for them in the House, working to make Jefferson County a destination where people want to live and work. I think the county and state are headed in the right direction, and nothing about my approach really changes if I’m elected to the Senate. I would work for the people who elected me four times to the House and five times to the (Windsor C-1) school board.”
Shaul said he is proud of a bill he sponsored regarding election reform that recently was passed by the House and now is being taken up by the Senate.
The legislation would require voters to present a photo ID at the polls and prohibit counting absentee ballots before all votes cast on Election Day are counted. The bill also would not allow changes to election law six months before any presidential election.
“I want to make sure Missouri sets the standard for fair and secure elections,” he said.
Concerning his tenure on the Windsor C-1 Board of Education, Shaul said he plans to continue to hold that seat.
“As long as I have time to be an effective school board member, I will want to continue on the board,” he said. “If as a senator I learn that I need to give as much time as I have as a member of the House, I can do both. But once I’m elected, I might determine that I can’t do both effectively, but that’s a decision that would be made at a later date.”
Shaul is the second candidate to declare for the Senate seat. Earlier this year, state Rep. Mary Elizabeth Coleman (R-Arnold) also announced her intentions to run.
Shaul said he expects more announcements in the future.
Three of the other four state representatives who represent parts of Jefferson County – Rob Vescovo (R-Arnold), Becky Ruth (R-Festus) and Shane Roden (R-Cedar Hill) – are all in their fourth terms and cannot run for re-election in 2022.
Shaul has been executive state director of the Missouri Grocers Association since 2006.
He and his wife, Kim, have three children. He served in the U.S. Air Force.
State senators and representatives currently receive a $35,915 annual salary, plus mileage and $115 per day in expenses for each day the General Assembly is in session. However, they are in line to receive an $1,800 raise spread out over two years beginning in July.