State Sen. Cunningham Endorses Steelman for U.S. Senate

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- State Senator Jane Cunningham is another in a series of Republican state lawmakers to endorse U.S. Senate hopeful Sarah Steelman.

In a statement Friday morning, Cunningham became one of over 50 members of the Missouri General Assembly to tout their support for Steelman in the contested Republican primary.

"Sarah Steelman is a powerful and unwavering voice for both fiscal and social conservatism, and I am proud to endorse her effort to take on Senator McCaskill," Cunningham said. "Sarah is tested and has proven herself able to stick to her guns when the pressure builds. I, like Sarah Palin, support Sarah Steelman."

Cunningham praised Steelman's opposition to abortion rights, and said she hoped Steelman could join "only one consistently pro-life female senator" in the Senate.

Steelman thanked Cunningham for her support, lauding her support for Proposition C - the 2010 initiative opposing the health care law's individual mandate - and her service as a woman in the state Senate.

"Jane also knows what it takes for a woman to be successful in what is still a male-dominated institution," Steelman said. "Her confidence in me is all the more appreciated."

Steelman is challenging former St. Louis businessman John Brunner and U.S. Rep. Todd Akin for their party's nomination to take on Sen. Claire McCaskill later this fall.