In K.C. appearance, U.S. Chamber official endorses Blunt, blisters Kander; Democrat’s campaign calls Blunt ‘insider’

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce endorsed Sen. Roy Blunt at a morning news conference in Kansas City.

The endorsement wasn’t a surprise. But Rob Engstrom, the Chamber’s political director, took several shots at Democrat Jason Kander while making the announcement.

“What is stunning is the fact that Elizabeth Warren as well as Al Franken as well as Harry Reid have all endorsed Jason Kander’s campaign,” Engstrom said. And: “What’s also stunning is that of the 28 bills that he was the primary sponsor, exactly none of them ever became law.”

And: “The bottom line is Mr. Kander is fundamentally ineffective.”

Blunt declined an opportunity to chime in, leaving the attack lines to the Chamber.

In a statement, Chris Hayden of the campaign called Blunt an “insider.”

“Senator Blunt has been building a career as a Washington insider who has been a guaranteed vote for DC lobbyists and special interests,” Hayden’s statement said. “Jason remains focused on bringing people together and representing all Missourians, while Senator Blunt is committed to supporting a divisive Republican candidate in either Donald Trump or Ted Cruz.”

Blunt hasn’t officially endorsed a presidential candidate.

Blunt toured the Faultless Healthcare Linen service on Kansas City’s east side. He said jobs would be a key focus of his Senate campaign.

The national unemployment rate is at its lowest level in eight years. Blunt said the number is misleading.

“If you talk more to people and look less at the so-called statistics, I think it’s easy to find out why people are not only dissatisfied with what kind of economic things that are happening, but dissatisfied with the way the government views this,” Blunt said. “The very fact that the current administration’s constantly talking about how good things are shows how out of touch they are.”

This story was originally published May 2, 2016 at 10:26 AM.