Schnarre: No interest in state House run

Schnarre

Don Stamper, the former Boone County Presiding Commissioner, made waves a few months ago when he singaled interest in running for a soon-to-be vacated seat in the 23rd state House district. That got me wondering whether Keith Schnarre – a Republican who was ousted as presiding commissioner last November – would possibly join the longtime county politician in running for the state House.

The Centralia native resides in the Ninth District, a seat held by Rep. Paul Quinn, D-Monroe County. That seat has never been represented by a Republican, although Schnarre’s strong base of support in northern Boone County and fundraising experience could possibly make it competitive.

But that intriguing possibility of two former presiding commissioner running for the state House at the same time isn’t likely to happen. Schnarre told me on Friday he had no interest in pursuing a career in the General Assembly. And he added he isn’t likely to re-enter the political arena in the near future.

Interestingly, Schnarre and Stamper ran against each other in 2002 for the presiding commissioner post. In what was deemed an upset at the time, Schnarre came out on top by a few hundred votes.