Clint Zweifel

Clint Zweifel
45th Treasurer of Missouri
Incumbent
Assumed office January 12, 2009
Governor	Jay Nixon
Preceded by	Sarah Steelman
Personal details
Born	November 3, 1973 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Janice Smith
Children	2
Alma mater	University of Missouri, St. Louis
Website	Government website

Clint Zweifel (born November 3, 1973), is an American politician from Missouri. He was elected as State Treasurer of Missouri on November 4, 2008 and was sworn into office on January 12, 2009, succeeding Republican Sarah Steelman. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Early life and career

Zweifel was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and grew up in the surrounding communities of St. Louis County, Missouri, attending grade school in Florissant, Missouri and Hazelwood West High School in Hazelwood, Missouri.

The first member of his family to attend and graduate from college, he earned both a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and an MBA from the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Prior to running for public office, Zweifel was the research and education director for Teamsters Local 688 where one of his chief responsibilities was advising members nearing retirement on their personal finances. Eisenhower Fellowships selected Clint Zweifel as a USA Eisenhower Fellow in 2009.

Family

His wife, Janice, works with children with special needs in the public schools. They are parents to two adopted daughters, and live in Columbia, Missouri.^[1]

Political career

Zweifel represented the 78th District in the Missouri House of Representatives. He first won election to the House of Representatives in 2002 by a 67-vote margin and earned the distinction of being the only Democrat in the state to defeat a Republican incumbent.

While in the House, Zweifel served three terms and led Democratic policy strategy and developed solutions to help Missouri families, developing proposals on early childhood education, helping seniors cope with property taxes and guarding citizen privacy. He was the ranking member on the Ways and Means Committee and the Special Committee on Tax Reform. He also served on the Special Committee on Retirement, the Joint Committee on Tax Policy, and the Special Committee on State Parks and Waterways.

He chaired the Missouri House Democratic Campaign Committee in 2006, leading all Missouri House candidate recruitment and fundraising efforts. The effort resulted in the largest Democratic net gain in the House since 1978.

In the 2008 election cycle, Zweifel won the Democratic primary for State Treasurer, topping a four-candidate field which included 2004 nominee and Arnold, Missouri Mayor Mark Powell, former state Department of Economic Development official Andria Danine Simckes and former Kansas City Mayor Charles Wheeler. He went on to defeat Republican State Senator Brad Lager in the general election. He is the youngest person elected to that office in over a century, celebrating his 35th birthday the day before he was elected.

Zweifel was re-elected in 2012, defeating Republican Cole McNary and Libertarian Sean O'Toole. Zweifel is ineligible to seek reelection as State Treasurer in 2016, and has announced that he will not run for any other political office that year.^[2]

Electoral history

2008 Race for State Treasurer of Missouri
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Clint Zweifel	1,394,627	50.47
	Republican	Brad Lager	1,302,625	47.14
	Constitution	Rodney D. Farthing	66,062	2.39

2012 Race for State Treasurer of Missouri
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Democratic	Clint Zweifel (incumbent)	1,332,876	50.4
	Republican	Cole McNary	1,200,368	45.4
	Libertarian	Sean O'Toole	109,188	4.1

References

1. About Clint-Missouri State Treasurer Clint Zweifel
2. Zweifel won't run for office in 2016, newstribune.com; accessed February 28, 2015