Jim Talent
James Matthes "Jim" Talent (born October 18, 1956) is an American politician and former senator from Missouri. He is a Republican and resided in the St. Louis area while serving in elected office. He identifies with the conservative wing of the Republican party, being particularly outspoken on judicial appointments, abortion, flag burning, and defense issues. After serving for eight years in the U.S. House of Representatives and then working as a lobbyist, he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002, narrowly defeating Democrat Jean Carnahan in a special election to complete the term to which Carnahan's husband, Mel, had been elected posthumously in 2000. In the Democratic wave of November 2006, Talent narrowly lost his re-election bid to Claire McCaskill, 50% to 47%. Talent, a senior adviser to Mitt Romney's 2008 presidential campaign, most recently served as a member of Romney's 2012 Economic Policy Team during the 2012 Presidential Election. Talent is a distinguished fellow at the Heritage Foundation. He is also a co-chairman at Mercury, a Washington D.C. lobbying firm.