2008 Missouri Elections

AUTHOR: Ashton Cope

With all the hype of the upcoming presidential elections, itʼs easy to overlook the
upcoming state-wide elections. In November, all state-wide elected officials,
representatives, half of the senators, and the U.S. representatives will be up for reelection.
Among the notable candidates for governor are Democratic Attorney General Jay
Nixon, Republican State Treasurer Sarah Steelman, and Republican U.S.

Representative Kenny Hulshof. Prior to current Governor Matt Bluntʼs announcement
that he would not be running for re-election, the outcome of the race seemed to clearly
be in Nixonʼs favor. After that January announcement, however, the outcome is
suddenly unclear. While Nixon had in essence been campaigning for several years, his
campaign had mostly been based on anti-Blunt.

The office of lieutenant governor hardly seems as heated and will probably come
down to Republicans vs. Democrats. Among the many contestants, incumbent Lt.
Governor Peter Kinder is running again (heʼs changed his mind since announcing that
he was running for governor) on the Republican ticket and Representative Sam Page of
Creve Coeur on the Democratic.

Secretary of State Robin Carnahan has filed for re-election, running against two
unknowns.

Given that the office of State Treasurer is now incumbent-free, Republican
Senator Brad Lager of Savannah and Democratic Representative Clint Zweifel of
Florissant are facing off.

The office of Attorney General is also open with Jay Nixon running for governor,
and has perhaps received the most press. With only one Republican candidate
(President Pro Tem of the Senate Mike Gibbons) and three known equally matched
Democratic candidates, this election is up in the air. Senator Chris Koster of
Harrisonville, a recent Democratic-convert, has announced candidacy, along with
Representatives Margaret Donnelly of St. Louis and Jeff Harris of Columbia.
Throughout this session, Donnelly and Harris each had different tactics, with Donnelly
putting her duties of being a representative before campaigning and Harris barely
seeing the House floor at all (except for a few key press opportunities).

All state representatives are also up for re-election, and with Democrats tending
to be the favorite, the majority party of the House is expected to change. With only half
of the state senators up for re-election, the majority will most likely remain Republican.