Jim Talent, American lawyer and politician
James Matthes Talent (born October 18, 1956) is an American politician and former 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. He identifies with the conservative wing of the Republican Party, being outspoken on judicial appointments, abortion, flag burning, and defense issues.
After serving for eight years in the U.S. House of Representatives and then working as a lobbyist, he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002, defeating Democrat Jean Carnahan in a special election to complete the term to which Carnahan's husband, Mel, had been elected posthumously in 2000. In the Democratic wave of November 2006, Talent lost his re-election bid to Claire McCaskill, 50% to 47%.
Talent, a senior adviser to Mitt Romney's 2008 presidential campaign, served as a member of Romney's 2012 Economic Policy Team during the 2012 Presidential Election. Talent is a distinguished Fellow at the Heritage Foundation and a member of the Defense Policy Board. He is also a co-chairman at Mercury, a Washington D.C. lobbying firm. Following Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 presidential election, Talent was rumored to be on the short list for United States Secretary of Defense, a position ultimately offered to James Mattis.