Susan Montee (born July 6, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician from the U.S. state of

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

who served as the 35th

State Auditor of Missouri The state auditor of Missouri is an elected constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Missouri. Thirty-eight individuals have occupied the office of state auditor since statehood. The incumbent is Nicole G ...

. She won the election in 2006 Missouri State Auditor Election and was sworn into her position on January 4, 2007. She was the third woman in succession to serve as State Auditor of Missouri. She succeeded then- U.S. Senator

Claire McCaskill Claire Conner McCaskill (; born July 24, 1953) is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Missouri from 2007 to 2019 and as State Auditor of Missouri from 1999 to 2007. McCaskill is a native of Rolla, Missouri. She g ...

. Montee is a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. She was defeated in the 2010 election by

Tom Schweich Thomas A. Schweich (October 2, 1960 – February 26, 2015) was an American politician, diplomat, attorney, and author. A member of the Republican Party, Schweich served as State Auditor of Missouri from 2011 until his death in 2015. Prior to bei ...

. In 2011 Montee was elected the Chair of the Missouri Democratic Party, which she stepped down from later that year to run for Lieutenant Governor. Susan defeated seven other candidates in the August, 2012 Missouri Democratic Primary for Lieutenant Governor of Missouri. She lost the general election on November 6, 2012 to the Republican incumbent,

Peter Kinder Peter Dickson Kinder (born May 12, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 46th Lieutenant Governor of Missouri from 2005 to 2017. He was appointed as a co-chairman of the Delta Regional Authority in August 2017, serving in ...

Early life and career

Montee was born and raised in

St. Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and the county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri. Small parts of St. Joseph extend into Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the principal city of the St. Joseph Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includ ...

. She graduated from Bishop LeBlond High School. She has an undergraduate degree in accounting from

Drury College Drury University, formerly Drury College and originally Springfield College, is a private university in Springfield, Missouri. The university's mission statement describes itself as "church-related". It enrolls about 1,700 undergraduate and grad ...

in Springfield with minors in

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

and business administration. Montee became a Certified Public Accountant in 1985. She obtained her J.D. degree from the

University of Missouri-Kansas City A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

where she graduated, with distinction, in 2000. Montee was married 21 years to attorney James Montee before divorcing in 2007. They have three children: Amanda, Andy, and Austin. The family attends Christ Episcopal Church where Susan is one of the highest church officials. Susan Montee is the daughter of Arlene Humphrey of St. Joseph and U.S. Marine Galen Humphrey, Missing-in-Action in Vietnam since 1966. The plane her father was flying on was shot down over the Gulf of Tonkin, off the coast of Vietnam in 1966. Susan also owns Mokaska Coffee Company in St. Joseph Missouri.

Political career

Montee's first elective post was to an at-large four-year term on the St. Joseph City Council in 1998. In 2000, she was elected as Buchanan County Auditor. She served the county for two years concurrently with her service on the City Council. In 2002, Montee was re-elected to a four-year term as County Auditor. In 2006, Montee sought and won election as the State Auditor of Missouri, defeating Republican Sandra Thomas by a margin of 52.8 to 43.4%. The office was vacated by

in her win over

Jim Talent James Matthes Talent (born October 18, 1956) is an American politician who was a U.S. Senator from Missouri from 2002 to 2007. He is a Republican and resided in the St. Louis area while serving in elected office. After serving for eight years ...

for the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

seat from Missouri. Montee assumed the office four days before her term was scheduled to begin. Former

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Matt Blunt Matthew Roy Blunt (born November 20, 1970) is an American former naval officer and politician who served as the 54th Governor of Missouri from 2005 to 2009. Before his election as governor, Blunt served ten years in the United States Navy, was e ...

(R) appointed Montee to fill the brief vacancy created when McCaskill was sworn into the U.S. Senate. During the Democratic presidential primary of 2008, Montee was an early endorser of

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

for the Democratic nominee for president."Montee Endorses Obama"
/ref> While she said she was "moved" by Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign to become the first woman president, Montee cited Obama's message of unity and hope as the main reason for her endorsement. Obama narrowly won the popular vote by less than 11,000 votes in the Missouri Primary of 2008. Clinton's overwhelming performance in the rural areas of the state, however, led the two candidates to split the state's 72 delegates. After leaving the office of Missouri State Auditor, Montee became the Chair of the

Missouri Democratic Party The Missouri Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Missouri. Its chair is Michael Butler, vice chair is Genevieve Williams, treasurer is Cydney Mayfield, and secretary is Manny Abarca. Mayfield has been t ...

and has held numerous local positions within the Democratic Party. She is a member of both the Missouri Society of CPAs and the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys. In November 2011, Montee stepped down as Chair of the Missouri State Democratic Party to run for Lieutenant Governor of Missouri. On August 7, 2012, she defeated a crowded field of seven other candidates to win the Democratic Primary for Lieutenant Governor of Missouri. She won with 45% of the vote, winning 109 of Missouri's 114 counties. She would face Republican incumbent,

, in the November general election.

Electoral history

References

External links

Biography from campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montee, Susan 1959 births Living people State Auditors of Missouri Missouri Democrats Politicians from St. Joseph, Missouri Drury University alumni University of Missouri–Kansas City alumni Women in Missouri politics 21st-century American women