Fired aide to ex-Mo. gov runs for gov's dad's seat

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) - A fired aide to former Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt is using money he received in a wrongful termination and defamation settlement with the state to run for the congressional seat long held by Blunt's father.

Scott Eckersley is running as a Democrat in one of the country's most Republican districts.

Voters there have overwhelmingly supported outgoing Republican U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt for more than a decade. Roy Blunt is running for Senate.

Eckersley is betting he can tap into the electorate's anti-Washington sentiments by showing he stood up to a top elected official.

Eckersley was fired in 2007 as a legal adviser in Matt Blunt's office after pointing out that the governor's office should not be deleting certain e-mails because they were public record.