Republican U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt was among dozens of candidates who waited in long lines Tuesday at the Missouri secretary of state's office to officially file to run for public office.
Unlike others in line, Blunt's challenger - Democratic Secretary of State Jason Kander - was in charge of the opening-day event.
"I'm sure this was much better organized when I was secretary of state," Blunt said with a laugh. He previously served in that position from 1985 to 1993.
More than 330 candidates paid party dues and filed to run for public office Tuesday, about average over the past two decades of opening-day filing. Someone passed out while waiting, but later appeared to be fine, according to the secretary of state's office.
"Everybody who comes in is very excited about what's ahead of them, and you can feel that energy in the building," Kander said. "It's just fun to be around people who are stepping forward to participate in our democracy."
State Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, a University City Democrat running for Democratic U.S. Rep. Lacy Clay's seat representing St. Louis, said she woke up around 4 a.m. and arrived at 5:30 a.m. so she could secure her spot as the first person in line.
"I'm just amped," she said. "I'm ready to start."
Chappelle-Nadal and other first-day filers reached into a glass cookie jar to draw papers containing numbers between one and 998. Those with the lowest numbers will be listed first on the ballot. Candidates who sign up on subsequent days will be listed in the order in which they file.
Candidates traditionally line up in advance of filing to secure a higher listing on primary ballots.
All four Republican candidates seeking to replace term-limited Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, filed Tuesday. The GOP candidates are suburban St. Louis businessman John Brunner, former Navy SEAL officer Eric Greitens, former U.S. attorney and state House speaker Catherine Hanaway and Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder.
Democratic Attorney General Chris Koster also officially entered the gubernatorial race.
This year's ballot will feature races for lieutenant governor, treasurer and attorney general, as well as federal and state legislative seats and some judgeships.
Filing also brought a surprise statewide candidate: state Sen. Dan Brown, a Rolla Republican running for state treasurer. He faces a GOP primary against his colleague and fellow state Sen. Eric Schmitt, of Glendale, for term-limited Democratic Treasurer Clint Zweifel's seat.
Brown said he has an advantage in rural areas and said he was spurred to run in part because he's received backing from donors. He declined to disclose who those supporters are. Recent campaign contributions must be reported by April 15.
Brown had about $136,000 in cash in his Senate campaign committee at the end of the year.
Schmitt announced his plans to run for treasurer in July 2014. His spokesman Rich Chrismer said in a statement that he's used the time to build a team and raise "significant resources" for his campaign. Schmitt had about $2.1 million in cash to spend at the end of 2015.
First-time candidate Rachel Johns was among those who arrived before filing started Tuesday. Johns, a 24-year-old St. Louis resident running against fellow Democratic Rep. Joshua Peters, said she was motivated to run after "seeing people struggle" when she protested in Ferguson following the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in 2014.
This year's primary is scheduled for Aug. 2. The general election is Nov. 8.