U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer filed Friday for election to a third term in Congress, representing Missouri's new 3rd Congressional District.
As drawn by the state Legislature last year, the new 3rd District includes all or part of 13 counties, including Cole, Callaway, Osage, Miller, Maries, Camden and Gasconade counties in Mid-Missouri.
Luetkemeyer currently serves all or part of 25 counties in the 9th Congressional District, which disappears in the new map because Missouri lost a district after the 2010 Census.
"I have spent the last nearly four years fighting to reduce job-killing taxes and spur job creation," Luetkemeyer said in a news release, "and I remain committed to those goals."
He said he's looking forward "to reaching out to the new areas of the district and listening to the concerns of hard-working Missourians (who are) angry about the direction of our country under the Obama administration." Luetkemeyer, 59, is a St. Elizabeth native who first was elected to Congress in 2008.
He has worked as a small businessman, in both the banking and insurance industries.
Luetkemeyer also has a strong agriculture background, including operating a 160-acre family farm.
The "National Journal" recently noted Luetkemeyer has the most conservative overall voting record among Missouri's nine-member congressional delegation, and the 45th most conservative voting record in the 435-member House.