George D. Weber

George D. "Boots" Weber (March 2, 1925 – November 19, 2012) was an American politician from Missouri. He served a two-year term in the Missouri House of Representatives and then became a perennial candidate, running unsuccessfully for various offices over the course of his life.

Early life Weber was born to William and Anna Weber on a farm outside of Eureka, Missouri, into a family of seven children. He graduated from Eureka High School in 1942 and went on to attend the University of Missouri.

Weber lost his first race for Missouri House of Representatives in 1962. He won in 1964 with 51% of the vote, narrowly defeating incumbent Republican Robert O. Snyder, but never again won an election. He lost reelection to Eric F. Fink in 1966, and lost again to Fink when he sought a comeback in 1968. In 1970, Weber ran for the Missouri Senate but lost the Democratic primary. In 1972, he lost the primary for his old House seat by just two votes. In 1974, he lost the primary for state Senate, and in 1976 he ran for Governor of Missouri but lost the primary to Joseph P. Teasdale, coming in sixth place with 1.3% of the vote.

Following his run for governor, Weber lost several more Democratic primaries: for state senate in 1978, for Missouri's 8th congressional district in 1980, for state House in 1990, and for U.S. Senate in 1992. He then joined the Reform Party and was that party's nominee for Missouri Auditor in 1998 and then Lieutenant Governor in 2000.

Weber was diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma in 2010. Treatment was unsuccessful, and despite being told he had only two months to live in November of that year, he survived for two more years and died November 19, 2012.

Political positions Weber was anti-abortion and pro-gun, but believed existing gun laws need to be better enforced. He was a strong conservationist and believed clean water is about to become a major economic and conservation issue. His conservative social views made him vulnerable to insurgent campaigns in the Democratic primaries in 2004 and 2006, but he narrowly won the nomination both years. The largely progressive Democratic mainstream in St. Louis County, however, was slow to embrace him as a candidate despite his frequent campaigns for office in the area.