29 Facts About Bob Holden

Since leaving public office, Holden has worked at Webster University, where he founded the Holden Public Policy Forum, and serves as the president and chairman of the United States Heartland China Association.

Bob Holden attended a one-room school and earned his bachelor's degree in political science at Missouri State University, where he was a member of the Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity.

Bob Holden attended the John F Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where he took courses specifically tailored for government executives.

Bob Holden's brother, Calvin Ray Holden, is a Greene County Circuit Court judge.

From 1975 to 1981, Bob Holden worked in the office of State Treasurer James Spainhower, and worked on Spainhower's 1980 campaign for governor.

From 1983 to 1989, Bob Holden was a member of the Missouri House of Representatives.

Bob Holden's race was considered to be one of the few potentially competitive races for Democrats that year, and Bailey was seen as the most vulnerable Republican up that year.

Bob Holden lost by over 40,000 votes in a close contest.

In 1992, Bob Holden made another bid, and this time was successful.

Bob Holden won the Democratic nomination and faced Republican Congressman Jim Talent in the general election.

However, when votes from St Louis came in around midnight, Bob Holden took over the lead.

Bob Holden's inauguration was the most elaborate and expensive in state history.

Not long after his inauguration, Bob Holden faced a challenge from the new legislature.

However, in spite of this, Bob Holden was able to get some legislative accomplishments.

Later that year, when Bob Holden called a special session, the legislature passed a bill, which created a new prescription drug benefit for seniors.

Bob Holden was pro-gun, but due to some negative effects that he felt proposed legislation would have on Missouri gun owners, and due to the results of a 1999 referendum, he vetoed a concealed-carry bill passed by the Missouri General Assembly.

At various times during his administration, Bob Holden made drastic cuts in the state's budget.

Bob Holden did generally favor greater spending on state elementary and secondary education, but faced problems with raising funds.

Bob Holden was a member of the National Governors Association and was elected chair of the Midwestern Governors' Conference which led the Midwestern states' efforts to stimulate the economy by focusing on education and research.

Bob Holden chaired the Governor's Ethanol Coalition and represented fellow governors on the National Medicaid Reform Task Force.

In March of 2003, Bob Holden announced his bid for re-election in 2004.

Bob Holden was challenged for the Democratic nomination for governor by a fellow Democrat, State Auditor Claire McCaskill, who had won the support of officials such as former governor Roger B Wilson.

McCaskill based her campaign on the broad-based disgruntlement with Holden that prompted even some Democrats to call him by the unflattering moniker "OTB".

Bob Holden is currently the president and chairman of the United States Heartland China Association, the United States Heartland China Association is a 5013 bipartisan organization committed to building stronger ties between the USHCA Region and the People's Republic of China.

Previously, Bob Holden taught political science and communications courses at Webster University.

Bob Holden is the founder and director of the Bob Holden Public Policy Forum at Webster University.

In 2016, Bob Holden was appointed to the executive committee of Missouri's statewide NAACP chapter.

Bob Holden endorsed and campaigned on behalf of Vice President Joe Biden in the Democratic primaries of the 2020 United States presidential election.

Bob Holden had previously endorsed Senator Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primaries of the 2008 presidential campaign and served as a Missouri co-chair and a member of the Clinton campaign's education policy task force.