Blunt, Roy D., 1950-, U.S. politician, b. Niangua, Mo., grad. Southwest Baptist Univ. (B.A. 1970), Southwest Missouri State Univ. (M.A. 1972). A Missouri county clerk and elections offficer from 1973 to 1984, he later served as state secretary of state (1984-93 and president of Southwest Baptist Univ. (1993-96). Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican in 1996, he became majority whip in 1999 and acting majority leader in 2005 when Tom DeLay stepped aside temporarily because he had been indicted. After DeLay made his resignation permanent, Blunt failed to win the majority leader's post, but he remained the Republican whip.