Susan Montee
Encyclopedia
Susan Montee is an American politician from the U.S. state of Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

 who served as the State Auditor of Missouri
State Auditors of Missouri
The State Auditor of Missouri is an elected official responsible for serving as the State of Missouri's chief fiscal regulator, conducting financial and performance audits for approximately 200 state agencies, boards, and commissions, and the state's judicial branch...

. She won the election in November 2006 and was sworn into her position on January 4, 2007. She is the third woman in succession to serve as State Auditor of Missouri. She succeeded now-U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 Claire McCaskill
Claire McCaskill
Claire Conner McCaskill is the senior United States Senator from Missouri and a member of the Democratic Party. She defeated Republican incumbent Jim Talent in the 2006 U.S. Senate election, by a margin of 49.6% to 47.3%. She is the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Missouri in her own...

. Montee is a member of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

. She was defeated in the 2010 election by Tom Schweich
Tom Schweich
Thomas A. "Tom" Schweich is an American politician and lawyer who has served as Coordinator for Counternarcotics and Justice Reform in Afghanistan. While in that position, he was given the rank of Ambassador by U.S. President George W. Bush. In the 2010 election in Missouri, Schweich won the race...

. She is currently a candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Missouri in the 2012 election.

Early life and career

Montee was born and raised in St. Joseph, Missouri. She graduated from Bishop LeBlond High School. She has an undergraduate degree in accounting from Drury College in Springfield
Springfield, Missouri
Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. According to the 2010 census data, the population was 159,498, an increase of 5.2% since the 2000 census. The Springfield Metropolitan Area, population 436,712, includes the counties of...

 with minors in economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...

 and business administration. Montee became a Certified Public Accountant in 1985. She obtained her law degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City where she graduated, with distinction, in 2000.

Montee was married 21 years to attorney James Montee before divorcing in 2007. They have three children: Amanda, Andy, and Austin. The family attends Christ Episcopal Church where Susan is one of the highest church officials. Susan Montee is the daughter of Arlene Humphrey of St. Joseph and U.S. Marine Galen Humphrey, Missing-in-Action in Vietnam since 1966. Her father was shot down in Vietnam in 1966.

Political career

Montee's first elective post was to an at-large four-year term on the St. Joseph City Council in 1998. In 2000, Montee was elected Buchanan County
Buchanan County, Missouri
Buchanan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of 2010, the population was 89,201. Its county seat is Saint Joseph. When originally formed in 1838, the county was named Roberts County, after settler Hiram Roberts; it was renamed in 1839 for James Buchanan, then a U.S....

 Auditor. She served the county for two years concurrently with her service on the City Council. In 2002, Montee was reelected to a four-year term as County Auditor.

In 2006, Montee sought and won election as the State Auditor of Missouri, defeating Republican Sandra Thomas by a margin of 52.8% to 43.4%. The office was vacated by Claire McCaskill
Claire McCaskill
Claire Conner McCaskill is the senior United States Senator from Missouri and a member of the Democratic Party. She defeated Republican incumbent Jim Talent in the 2006 U.S. Senate election, by a margin of 49.6% to 47.3%. She is the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Missouri in her own...

 in her win over Jim Talent
Jim Talent
James Matthes "Jim" Talent 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,...

 for the U.S. Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 seat from Missouri. Montee assumed the office four days before her term was scheduled to begin. Former Governor Matt Blunt
Matt Blunt
Matthew Roy Blunt served as the 54th Governor of Missouri from 2005 to 2009. Before his election as governor, Blunt served ten years in the United States Navy, was elected to serve in the Missouri General Assembly in 1998 and as Missouri's Secretary of State in 2000.A Republican, Blunt was elected...

 (R) appointed Montee to fill the brief vacancy created when McCaskill was sworn into the U.S. Senate.

During the Democratic presidential primary of 2008, Montee was an early endorser of Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...

 for the Democratic nominee for president. While Montee said she was "moved" by Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign to become the first woman president, she cited Obama's message of unity and hope as the main reason for her endorsement. Obama narrowly won the popular vote by less than 11,000 votes in the Missouri Primary of 2008. Clinton's overwhelming performance in the rural areas of the state, however, led the two candidates to split the state's 72 delegates.

Montee currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Missouri State Democratic Party and has held numerous local positions within the Democratic Party. She is a member of both the Missouri Society of CPAs and the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys.

Electoral history

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