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COLUMBIA - Think of it as the domino effect: knock one over and the rest come tumbling down.
Each race affects another and Missourians could be in for an interesting race.
In Columbia, Democrat Judy Baker's 25th District State Representative seat is up for grabs. Republican Ryan Asbridge is running unopposed while the Democrats offer up three candidates for the party's nomination.
"They often say it takes a year or two to find the bathrooms in the state capitol," said Jack Cardetti of the Missouri Democratic Party. "Those are three people who really know how state government works and will be able to affect it on behalf of their district on their first day in the office."
Baker wants to move from Jefferson City to Washington D.C. She's one of three Democratic candidates for the Ninth District U.S. Representative seat left open by Republican Keny Hulshof. But both parties look to the Republican race with four candidates, including former MU runningback Brock Olivo.
"Brock Olivo's going to need to vote first. He hasn't quite ever voted before so hopefully... That's going to be a hard task for him to ask for people to vote for him when he himself has admitted he's never voted," Cardietti said.
"They are quality candidates," said Jared Craighead of the Missouri Republican Party. "We're going to have a spirited primary and in the end, after the August primary, the Republican Party's going to make sure that the 9th Congressional District stays in the Republican column."
Hulshof wants to change his title from U.S. representative to governor. He will face four other Republicans in the race for the spot left open when Matt Blunt's domino fell.
"I think we're in great shape in terms of the party as a whole," Craighead said. "I think we've had a very deep bench and had some incredible candidates step up. I think either Kenny Hulshof or Sarah Steelman will beat Jay Nixon in the fall."
"At the gubernatorial level, we can't continue on the same track we have under four years of Governor Blunt," Cardetti said. "And that's why I think Jay Nixon is well positioned to bring about real change in the governor's office."
Nixon, the Democratic frontrunner for governor, will give up his title of Attorney General. Four Democrats will fight to replace fellow Democrat Nixon while Republican Mike Gibbons is unopposed.
"Mike is very well positioned right now being our only candidate on the Republican side and watching three high profile democrats sort of fight it out on their side."
The political party domino game continue until the Missouri primary on August 5th. After matt blunt gave up the governorship, seats opened up as candidates pushed up to run for that higher office. After August, Missourians will have to wait just three more months until November to find out who will win the elections and start a new era of Missouri dominos.
Edited by: Juana Summers
Reported by: Erika Thomas
Published: Tuesday, March 25, 2008 at 5:05 PM
Last Updated: Monday, April 7, 2008 at 12:20 PM |
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