Missouri has becoming more and more Republican, more like a Southern State than a midwestern swinger. It is hard to get elected with pro-abortion, anti-gun, pro-gay marriage stance on statewide races in MO. You can get these lefties in the inner cities of St. Louis or Kansas City, this is why I think Gephardt may not be that much of a help to Kerry in MO as most pundits think. Gephardt is the creature of St. Louis city, the votes in St. Louis country (west county, chesterfeild area) are far more Republican, may just R enough to swamp the inner city votes in a general election. Outside st. Louis, Gephardt's msg won't sell in rural Missouri (the ozarks), hard to say about Kansas City. Missouri really resembles the US as a whole, urban areas on the left and right side of the state (country) and a large stretch of area in the middle (urban votes for dims and rural votes from the reps).
That explains the Legislature here: you have the two big cities, STL and KC, swinging the gubernatorial election, but the people in between, Hermann, Rolla, and countless other small towns, electing Republicans. It's just a matter of time before religious black voters in the cities take a closer look at the Dems anti-Christian, anti-life, and anti-black positions.
Culturally, I can tell you firsthand Missouri is a markedly conservative state compared to California, Oregon, and Washington. Here, it's "normal" to be pro-life, not a fringe position. Overall, people treat one another like human beings, not like competing animals. Natives probably do not notice these things.