I'm thinking now it won't be either Brunner or Steelman. I'm thinking either Ann Wagner, current candidate for Akin's House seat (my district), or Kit Bond, consistent statewide winner, two-time governor, four-time senator, recently retired (but 73 now).
BTW, it's JOHN Brunner not "Jim."
Among the two, Steelman probably has the edge as the GOP may want to put the Akin debacle to rest by nominating a woman.
The same could be accomplished by running Ann Wagner.
Steelman finished third in the primary, and she is not all that popular in state Republican circles. She hasn't always been a very good team player.
CH, I’ll certainly defer to you, a native, over any out-of-state journalist or freeper. I like Steelman because Palin puts so much stock in her, but I suppose just about anyone is better than Akin at this point.
Steelman finished third in the primary, and she is not all that popular in state Republican circles. She hasn't always been a very good team player.I suspect that's one of the attributes that attracted Sarah Palin.
She's made a living swimming against the tide.
I’m going to play stupid here but who the heck is Ann Wagner?
Rev. Henrickson is right.
I have no personal animosity toward Sarah Steelman. She was my state senator before she was elected Missouri State Treasurer and I've interviewed her a number of times. The problems with Steelman include:
1) She placed third, not second, in the primary.
2) She lost in a nasty Republican primary for governor four years ago, and rightly or wrongly (I think wrongly) she got blamed for being so aggressive that she hurt the eventual Republican nominee and got a Democrat elected.
3) She's antagonized enough Republican Party leaders, not over “tea party” stuff but rather personal animosities, that they're circulating nasty personal rumors about her. Many and perhaps most can't be proven and may well not be true, but it indicates how much she's disliked, and not necessarily for reasons Freepers would appreciate. The problem is that if any of the rumors **DO** prove to be true, they'll torpedo her as a candidate. My guess is the rumors are being circulated precisely for that reason and may have no basis in fact at all, and indicate more about how she's thought of by Jefferson City insiders.
Bottom line — if the Republican Party leadership is looking for a “safe bet,” Steelman probably isn't it, but she does have the major advantages of having significant prior experience in government and being a well-known commodity. Brunner doesn't have either of those and I also have trouble seeing him “get the nod” in a selection made by Republican Party leadership.
I think we're probably looking at an entirely different candidate rather than either Brunner or Steelman if Akin drops out.
It's a shame that the very thing that would probably make her the best choice is what keeps her from getting the support of the statewide party hack network.