If I was Blunt, worry about Nixon. Although Nixon is an idiot, Blunt is an elitist so I would expect many not showing up election day or voting Libertarian. Libertarians poll pretty well here...
I’m not sure what party Carl Edwards is, but if he ever ran for office in Columbia, MO, he would win. He’s from Columbia.
“Democrats concede they won’t field a serious candidate”
Uh, actually they failed to field ANY candidate. They can;t even lie convincingly. Do they even believe their own BS?
commentary from missourivalues.org that has a side focus on Buchanan County, but overall analysis of statewide politics has some interesting points.
Domination
Posted on March 26, 2014
Filing for all Missouri and Buchanan County elected offices closed on Tuesday with further evidence of the Republican strength that has been building for many years. Two years ago Republicans were disheartened at the state and federal levels with not only the re-election of Barack Obama, but the sweep of all state-wide offices except for Lt. Governor. Despite the disappointment, Republicans still held overwhelming majorities in both sides of the General Assembly: Representatives and Senators elected by their smaller, more local districts.
As disenchantment continues to grow over Obamacare’s forced health insurance programs, unbridled federal spending, rising pressure for illegal immigration (allowance) reform, attacks on faith and traditional family values, and liberalization of recreational drug use, the growing number of conservative candidates (and the withdrawal of liberals) is evident in candidate filing by the numbers:
STATE-WIDE - After winning nearly EVERY state office in 2012, NOT ONE Democrat filed to run as State Auditor. Incumbent Tom Schweich is opposed by only a Libertarian and a Constitution Party candidate. Democrat failure to field a candidate is hardly inspiring when you consider the shellacking the Dems gave Repubs last time they met on the state-wide stage.
STATE REPS - Republicans currently hold 110 of 163 State House seats, all of which are up for election. Republican candidates will be unopposed in 40 of those offices, and in 10 more the primary winning Republican will face no Democratic opponent: that’s 50 seats — almost half — with NO DEM CANDIDATE! By contrast, 14 Dems have a “free ride” and 7 more face only primary challenges to expand their 53 seat minority.
REPRESENTING BUCHANAN COUNTY - All three incumbent State Rep candidates – 1 Democrat and 2 Republican — are among the completely unopposed, free-ride numbers. What is so amazing about this is that Representative Galen Higdon, representing the more traditionally blue-collar, Democratic South St. Joseph/Buchanan County area, enters this re-election bid with NO DEMOCRATIC CONTENDER for the second time. Eastern St. Joseph/Buchanan County Rep Delus Johnson likewise will face no Democrat for the second time as he looks toward his third term. Former County Clerk, Pat Conway, likewise remains unopposed representing the St. Joseph urban area as the County’s lone Democrat legislator.
STATE SENATORS - Republicans currently hold 24 of 34 State Senate seats. Republicans currently hold 11 of the 17 coming up for election. Nine Republican candidates will face no opponent, and one office faces only a Republican primary battle. Only one Democrat incumbent is unopposed. That leaves the remaining 7 offices facing at least a general election battle.
IN NORTHWEST MO - Incumbent Rob Schaaf ( representing Platte/Buchanan Counties) and term-limited Brad Lager (representing the 15-county district of all of NW MO) go into November with oddly different scenarios. It’s usually the open seat that gets all the attention, but former State Rep Dan Hegeman will go through to the general election totally unopposed, whereas Dr. Rob Schaaf will face opposition by a lone Democratic challenger.
CONGRESS - Nationally, 2014 looks to be a referendum on Obama Democrats and RINO Republicans. Missouri will not have a US Senate race this year so we will be on the sidelines picking our favorites running for the Senate. In the US House, all 8 MO Congressmen will face challenges in at least the general election. The 6 generally conservative Republican US Reps should hold their own, but the negative attitude toward the current Republican leadership may hurt what should otherwise be an easy Republican re-election. November will tell if there will be any upsets — particularly in the Democrat-held urban districts of KC and St. Louis.
BUCHANAN COUNTY OFFICES - The Republican brand continues to grow in what is typically considered to be ”a Democratic county”. Rarely seeing many candidates for county office in past decades (let alone primary races), the successful election of Republican candidates to high-visibility county offices and the state general assembly, as well as a surge in conservative identity, has resulted in Republican candidates for 2 judgeships- one an incumbent, one an open seat, an incumbent Republican for County Clerk, a Republican for an open County Auditor seat, and 2 well-qualified Republican candidates in a primary to replace our retiring Republican Presiding Commissioner.
As conservatism grows within the Republican Party, so too does it lead to growth and expansion of the Republican party in Buchanan County and NW Missouri. This should be a very good year for our candidates as they promote their conservative Missouri and Buchanan County values.