The race to become Missouri's next governor looks like it's going to heat up over the next couple weeks - which is hard to do - since it's been the most "politically bloody " war being played out by elected officials in front of the public in the country.
Abortion - Double edged sword here. Even losing a court case in Cole County won't hurt Blunt on this wedge issue. Social Conservatives stand tight in opposition to abortion and Blunt's actions making abortion clinics increase regulatory requirements wins points for this segment. Downside - Social Progressives are equally adamant about abortion. It's a crossover issue for hardliner economically conservative old school Rebpulicans - and they usually have money - and power.
Team - During campaign season, aka hunting season for reporters, back room discussions involve the capacity and talent of candidates and leaders. Blunt's team outperforms Jay Nixon's team when it comes to PR. If Nixon or democrats in general want to gain momentum they'll have to increase their talent pool, information delivery mechanisms and organization.
Sunshine Law - Blunt is at a slight advantage in a battle which will continue to evolve with Nixon making strong counter attacks. Blunt took the Missouri House's stance "coming down hard on the judicial branch during the selection process for Missouri's open seat on the Supreme Court. Since the journalism community is relatively ignorant about the judicial branch it didn't play as well as it could have. The Ed Martin e-mail scandal was good but watching Nixon on youtube was a counter attack eclipsing the correspondence we were all aching to read.
Blunt's Government Accountability Portal was a nice move. Nixon's complaint database equally nice. These stories play nice with the press whose incomes rely on "solid intelligence" and open government.
Stem Cells - (See Abortion)
Education - Another double edged sword here. Restoring Missouri's education budget was a "top priority." The education lobby is powerful - Ranked #10 in the state. Professional educators tend to lean towards the democrats - which means, with some he'll never win. Loses points for trying to limit what teachers can teach.
Tourism - If you're in it for the right reason the vote count doesn't matter - at least not that much. I give props to Cy Murray on this one. He campaigned for "full tourism funding". Though he didn't win a seat in Jefferson City, Rep. Dennis Wood carried this message and delivered at the capital this year.
Missouri's tourism economy is Missouri's economic ant carrying high returns on investment. 1 in 14 Missourian's are employed by a tourism related industry.
Scorecard
1. Abortion -+
2. Team ++
3. Sunshine Law ++ (slightly)
4. Stem Cells -+
5. Education -+
6. Tourism ++
Your thoughts?
