EMERSON TO ANNOUNCE CANDIDACY DECISION WEDNESDAY

Speculation over whether Jo Ann Emerson will pursue the congressional seat of her late husband, U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson, will end at 10 a.m. Wednesday when she will announce her decision at a press conference in Cape Girardeau.

Longtime friend and co-worker Keith Kirk has been organizing the press conference for Emerson, who will be flying in from Washington for the event at the Holiday Inn's Oak Room.

Kirk said he can't say what Emerson's decision will be, but he did say the question has not been far from her mind all week.

"I know that over the last seven days she has been seriously considering continuing Bill Emerson's legacy in Congress," Kirk said.

Emerson said she has been uncertain about running.

"My debate has been on the impact running for office would have on my family," Emerson said. "I have four girls and each of them would be impacted differently."

Her youngest, Katherine, is 14 and lives at home. "She would obviously be impacted a great deal," Emerson said. The three other girls live away from home but would still feel their mother's absence in varying degrees, she said.

"A big concern has been, How are my kids going to feel about my running or not running?" Emerson said. "And then there's Grandma, Bill's mother, who I am fully responsible for now."

But Emerson said she feels drawn to carry on her husband's work.

"The biggest positive to running would be carrying on Bill's incredible legacy of taking care of the needs of the people in the district," she said. "Those are big shoes to fill."

She also said she thinks she is qualified to continue her husband's tradition of working with politicians of both parties.

"It was very important to Bill to work with people regardless of their party affiliation," Emerson said. "He hated partisan thinking and I hate it, too.

"I also think it's important to have someone in office who has worked closely with Bill and knows how to get things done -- someone who has a past relationship with the players out there.

"I think I could hit the ground running," she said.

One thing Emerson has not been able to work out is how to get on the ballot.

After her husband died June 22, Missouri Secretary of State Bekki Cook declared that filings for the 8th Congressional District election would remain closed. Despite talk of a legal challenge to that ruling, Cook's decision seems to be standing with less than a month to go before the primary election.

That leaves Jo Ann Emerson with two options if she chooses to run.

First, she can enter the race as an independent, which would automatically put her on the general election ballot. To do this, she would have to present Cook with a petition signed by about 3,700 registered district voters by no later than 5 p.m. July 29.

That recourse could be a problem because it might split the Republican vote and allow a Democratic challenger to take the election with less than 50 percent of the vote.

She could also enter the race as a write-in candidate, which would mean she would have to win the primary election on the Republican ticket to go on to the general election.

Monday, Emerson said she did not know which would be the best way of going if she decided to run.

"It's very complicated," she said. "I wish I was a lawyer. I've never wanted to be a lawyer before but every time I read these statutes I wish I could understand them completely -- it seems that a comma can change the entire meaning of the law."

Emerson's decision will also affect other potential candidates in the area. Among them are Lloyd Smith, who is Bill Emerson's chief of staff; Jackson lawyer John Lichtenegger and former state representative David Steelman, all of whom have said they would not oppose Jo Ann Emerson if she decides to run.