Another Missouri Republican consultant suggests that Representative Jo Ann Emerson, the Republican who has represented Missouri’s eighth district since 1996, could be a top contender to replace Todd Akin if he quits. Her name has been making the rounds among party insiders, thanks in part to the fact that she’s currently the longest-serving House member in Missouri. Missouri GOP executive director Lloyd Smith used to be her chief-of-staff.
UPDATE: A colleague points out that Emerson is a member of the moderate-leaning Republican Main Street partnership, and generally less rightward than the three — Akin, Sarah Steelman, and John Brunner — who ran in the primary. Emerson’s American Conservative Union ranking for 2011 was 56, and for 2010 88; Akin’s ratings, in contrast, were 91.67 and 100 in those years respectively.