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ST. LOUIS — Christopher “Kit” Bond, whose career at the top of Missouri politics saw him rise from state auditor to governor to four-term U.S. senator, died Tuesday. He was 86.

Bond’s political career spanned four decades, during which he went from relatively liberal whiz kid who reformed and modernized state government to born-again conservative and at times a fierce partisan.

Bond's election in 1972 as Missouri's first Republican governor in almost three decades was a key step in the gradual rebuilding of the state GOP from a party on life support into the dominant political force it is today. 

Later, in the Senate, Bond left no doubt that he saw himself as Missouri’s unofficial King of Pork, collecting federal largesse for constituents back home.

He defended “pork” even as others in the Senate moved to prohibit earmarks — pet projects — on spending bills. To critics, he bragged: “In the next batch, I’ll bring my own barbecue sauce.”

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe, in a statement announcing Bond's death, said, “Kit, always with his trademark smile and sense of humor, was a fierce advocate for Missouri throughout his accomplished 40-year career of public service."

Kehoe said Bond kept Missouri’s interests at heart, both in office and out. "Whenever he was thanked for his service, Kit’s response was always, ‘Serving the people of Missouri was the honor of my life.’” 

Kehoe said Bond died in ��ѿ��ý but did not give further details. Bond had lived in Ladue in recent years.

Kehoe ordered U.S. and Missouri flags to be flown at half-staff at government buildings and grounds statewide until sunset on May 22.

Services announced

A state memorial service will be held in the Missouri Capitol rotunda on Tuesday at noon. Bond will lie in state in the rotunda for 24 hours after that service.

In addition, a celebration of life will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday, May 22, at Ladue Chapel Presbyterian Church, 9450 Clayton Road.

Bond was born in ��ѿ��ý on March 6, 1939, and grew up in Mexico, Missouri, where his maternal grandfather, A.P. Green, created the family fortune making fireproof bricks from the high-silicon clay that underlies the area.

Bond went to prep school at Massachusetts’ elite Deerfield Academy, college at Princeton University and law school at the University of Virginia, where he was first in his class.

He came home to run for the U.S. House in 1968 and lost that race. Another young Republican, John C. Danforth, won his campaign that year for state attorney general and gave Bond a job running his consumer protection division.

In 1970, Bond ran again, and this time he won, becoming the state auditor, unseating the Democratic incumbent. In 1972, he was elected governor, defeating Democrat Edward L. Dowd, a prominent ��ѿ��ý lawyer. Bond campaigned on a reform platform to “throw the rascals out.”

At 33, Bond became the state’s youngest governor, and the GOP was back in business.

"He along with Danforth rebuilt the Republican Party in Missouri," said former ��ѿ��ý Aldermanic President James Shrewsbury, a Democrat.

"They gave us a clear two-party system for the first time in generations. He will be remembered as an icon in Missouri politics for years."

In Jefferson City, legislative veterans mocked him, calling him “Kid” Bond. But Bond called a special legislative session to reorganize state government. He expanded ambulance service to most of the state and increased education for children with disabilities.

He got legislators to pass a Sunshine Law to open up meetings and public records. He brought in a corrections director from New York to overhaul the state prison system and pushed for campaign finance disclosure.

In 1976, state Republicans split between Bond and other supporters of President Gerald Ford and former California Gov. Ronald Reagan. The Reagan faction won in Missouri and social conservatives still dominate the state GOP.

Political setback, revival

In a major upset, Bond lost his reelection bid that same year to Joseph Teasdale, a Democrat who ran a populist campaign accusing the “millionaire” Bond of being too cozy with corporations.

It would be the last time he would lose an election.

Bond then became president of the Great Plains Legal Foundation in Kansas City, which opposed what it considered to be excessive government regulation.

In 1980, he ran a year-long campaign to salvage his political career and defeated Teasdale in a rematch. In 1986, Bond narrowly defeated Lt. Gov. Harriett Woods to win the U.S. Senate seat of retiring Democrat Thomas F. Eagleton.

Six years later, he won another nail-biter, and found himself Missouri’s sole Republican statewide victor.

After the party’s 1992 fallback at the polls, it fell to Bond to pick up the pieces. He overhauled the state party organization and persuaded donors to contribute $750,000 over the next two years to finance party operations.

Bond won reelection to the Senate three times, his easiest victory coming in 2004 against State Treasurer Nancy Farmer.

Bond also helped build the modern-day Missouri Republican Party into a formidable political operation.

The public got a rare, televised glimpse of Bond’s anger on election night in November 2000: He bloodied his fist and pounded the lectern in rage over the defeat of a fellow Republican, Sen. John Ashcroft.

Bond accused Democrats of trying to steal the election after they had won a court order keeping the polls open an extra 45 minutes in ��ѿ��ý.

“I smelled a big fat rat,” Bond later explained.

Congressional efforts

Bond had a generally conservative voting record, opposing most abortion-rights legislation, supporting the nominations to the U.S. Supreme Court of Robert Bork (unsuccessful) and Clarence Thomas (successful) and supporting the Iraq war.

Bond’s influence in Congress was evident in Missouri’s urban areas, which benefitted from the federal monies he got for public housing, lead paint abatement, university research and Boeing’s military facilities.

In rural areas, he got funds for bridges, agriculture and other projects.

“Good” local earmarks “do not squander taxpayer dollars,” Bond wrote in a March, 2009 op-ed piece in the Post-Dispatch.

The many projects he proudly took credit for funding included: Revitalization of Washington Avenue and redevelopment of the Old Post Office in downtown ��ѿ��ý, replacement of uninhabitable housing, funds for transportation and expansion of Community Health Center services in Missouri.

But with Democrats firmly in control of the Senate in 2008, the subcommittee chairmanships that had given Bond his clout over housing, environmental and other key spending were out of his reach.

In 2008, a U.S. Justice Department investigation concluded that Bond’s office had pushed the White House to dismiss then-U.S. Attorney Todd Graves of Kansas City for political reasons. The report said Bond “declined” to be interviewed.

In a federal corruption investigation that year into lobbyist Jack Abramoff’s activities, a former aide to Bond pleaded guilty to concealing gifts from lobbyists. Bond called it “an unfortunate incident.”

With the times changing, he decided the time was right to end his political career. In a speech on the floor of the Missouri House in January 2009, he declared that he had run his last race.

“In 1973, I became Missouri’s youngest governor,” he said. “I do not intend to be Missouri’s oldest senator.”

After he left public office, he became a lobbyist for a bipartisan Clayton-based firm called Kit Bond Strategies; he retired several years ago. He also was a lawyer with the Thompson Coburn firm here.

Bond and his first wife, Carolyn Bond, separated and quietly divorced. In 2002, he married Linda Pell, a Republican consultant in Washington and a native of Kansas City.

Bond was applauded Tuesday by Missouri politicians in both major parties in news releases and on social media.

Danforth called Bond "one of the most consequential people in the history of our state."

"As a U.S. senator, he focused on results for Missouri," Danforth said. "From highways and bridges to Parents as Teachers (a program Bond championed), his contributions are tangible."

Even more important, Danforth said, was "his high standard of diligent service is a permanent model for public officials to follow."

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley said Bond "served his state and his nation with the utmost distinction for decades — and he was above all a fine man."

Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Town and Country, said Bond devoted his life to public service and was "a true statesman seemingly from a bygone era in today's divisive world."

She also commended Bond for promoting and advancing the careers of many women in public service.

Former Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill said, "I am proud that Kit and I were friends. He cared deeply and always about Missouri."

��ѿ��ý County Executive Sam Page, a Democrat, commended Bond for supporting the expansion of federally-qualified health centers in Missouri. "Today thousands of people get affordable health care because of his legacy," Page said.

��ѿ��ý Mayor Cara Spencer, another Democrat, said "Kit Bond’s career in public service is a tribute to his commitment as a favored son of Missouri and statesman."

Rep. Wesley Bell, D-��ѿ��ý County, said Bond's "commitment to our state was unwavering."

Also weighing in was former U.S. Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who served with Bond for years.

He called Bond "one of the Senate's most relentless and effective legislators" and said he built coalitions to make a difference "from agricultural innovation to intelligence oversight."