Who's Who in the Capitol

Lieutenant Governor: Peter Kinder (Republican) Kinder was elected in November 2004. As lieutenant. governor, Kinder is president of the Missouri Senate. Kinder was first elected to the Senate in 1992 and eventually become president pro tem. The position is elected separately from the governor. http://www.ltgov.mo.gov/

Attorney General: Jay Nixon (Democrat). Nixon is currently serving his fourth term as state attorney general and was elected to office in 1992. Nixon is the state's 40th attorney general. Nixon has announced his candidacy as governor in 2008.  http://www.ago.mo.gov/index.htm

Secretary of State: Robin Carnahan (Democrat). Carnahan was elected November 2004, as the state's 38th secretary of state. She is the daughter of late Gov. Mel Carnahan  http://www.sos.mo.gov//

State Auditor: Susan Montee (Democrat). Montee was elected to office in November 2006 and was sworn into office January 4, 2007.  She is the  first state auditor both an accounting and law degree. http://www.auditor.mo.gov/

State Treasurer: Sarah Steelman (Democrat).  Steelman was elected as state auditor January 10, 2005. She is the 44th treasurer to serve the state. As treasurer, she is responsible for the states annual revenue. http://www.treasurer.mo.gov/

Legislative Top Leadership Positions

Speaker of the House: The  speaker presiding officer in the House of Representatives. The speaker is the most powerful member of the legislature.  He appoints mebers of committees and assigns bills to committees.  The current speaker is Rep. Rod Jetton 

Speaker Pro Tem: The speaker pro tem presides over the House when the speaker is not there. The current speaker pro tem is Rep. Carl Bearden 

Senate Pro Tem:  The pro-tem is the highest ranked senator. The pro tem presides over the Senate when the lieutenant governor is not present. While the lieutenant governor is the official presiding officer for the Senate, his role in the Senate mostly is ceremonial.  Instead, Senate rules gives the president pro tem many of the powers normally excercised by a persiding officer -- such as assigning bills to committee.   The position is elected by the Senate members. The current president pro tem is Sen. Mike Gibbons

Majority Floor Leader: The majority leader is elected by the members of the party that holds a majority of the seats in a chamber and often serves as a spokesperson for the party. Republicans hold a majority of the House and Senate  The House majority leader is Rep. Tom Dempsey and the Senate majority leader is Sen. Charlie Shields.

Minority Floor Leader: The leader of the party in the minority is, as you would expect, called the minority floor leader. A chamber's minority leader is selected by the party members in that chamber. Sen. Maida Coleman is the Senate minority floor leader and the House minority leader is Rep. Jeff Harris.