On February 26th, the filing period began in Missouri. On that day, 317 candidates filed for office. 19 filed for statewide office, 23 filed for Congress. 25 filed for the state senate. 237 for the state house. And 13 for circuit judgeships.
Since then, the number of candidates has risen to 401 (yeah, I know it's a rise of 85 in 16 days of filing). So before we take a look at the scene, here's a prediction from State House Democratic floor leader Paul LeVota:
Rep. Paul LeVota (D-Independence) foresees a great election year for Democrats and says he has the numbers to back him up. LeVota believes Democrats can pick up 13 seats, which would give them the majority in the 163-seat chamber. He says the numbers favor Democrats.
On that bit of boldness, let's go into the filing!
Currently there are 401 candidates. 25 candidates for statewide office. 33 candidates for the US House. 31 candidates for the state senate. 296 candidates for State Representative. 16 candidates for circuit judge.
For Governor: Attorney General Jay Nixon is the only Democrat to have filed, and he is the overwhelming favorite to win the primary. The Republican primary is a duel between Kenny Hulshof and Sarah Steelman. Steelman will get support from Dick Morris. Morris has no ties to Missouri that I know of. But he will show up here and claim that Kenny Hulshof isn't electable enough. Also Scott Long and Richard Kline filed for the Republicans. Chief Wana Dubie (his real name) has filed for the Libertarians. Expect someone to notice this and to try and face down The Chief in a primary.
For Lt. Governor: All signs point to Sam Page v. Peter Kinder in November. Page, a state rep from St. Louis, also has ties to Kansas City (through college) and Southeast Missouri (where he grew up). Unknown candidate Michael Carter and frequent attention seeker Richard Tolbert have filed to face Page. Kinder will face Paul Sims and Arthur Hodge.
For Secretary of State: Robin Carnahan v. Mitch Hubbard in November? I like those odds.
For Treasurer: This one is a bit complex. Mark Powell (2004 candidate) is running again, as is Andria Simckes, and St. Rep Clint Zweiffel. I'd vote for any of those three. But, I don't see myself voting for Charles Wheeler in August. I know that the former mayor has a pretty good record for office, but he's also going to be 82 and I don't see him winning a general election barring a total landslide. Brad Lager is running for the Republicans.
For Attorney General: Chris Koster. Margaret Donnelly. Jeff Harris. Decisions, decisions, decisions. I'll let them sort this out before deciding. I'm not entirely convinced that Molly Williams is some sort of vote-splitting plot either.
As for Congress: The lineup of candidates in the 2nd District is the same as it was on Day 1. We have a few candidates in the 7th. We have one in the 8th too. We have a lot in the 9th. That will all sort itself out too.
State Senate: Currently we have candidates in 11 of 17 seats which is a bit of a downer. I hope we can get candidates in the 3rd district (which is pretty blue for most other things), the 7th district, and the 23rd. I don't like the odds of making up the 20-14 margin this year. But hopefully the margin shrinks to 18-16, or maybe even 17-17 (which means we win if Page wins).
State House: We need 11 seats for a majority (as the house is basically 92/71 Republican). We have candidates in 123 of 163 seats (with 52 challengers to Republican-held seats). Republicans have candidates in 106 of 163 seats (with 14 challengers to Democratic-held seats).
Yeah, that's a pretty big disparity between our challengers and theirs. In 2006, the margin was 18 seats uncontested by Dems and 41 uncontested by Republicans.
18 Republican seats are open. HD18 is tempting (as any St. Louis-area open seat is). HD85 and HD91 will be good targets too. I like our odds for HD20 (Callaway County), HD120 (Henry County) and HD121 (Warrensburg) is worth keeping an eye on. HD156 would be one heck of a win as it's the current seat of Speaker Rod Jetton (who is termed out after this session).
When it comes to challenging incumbents, 2006 challengers have returned in various districts. Some of those challengers include Mike Waltemath (who narrowly lost to Ron Paul-supporter Jim Guest in HD5) and Kenny Biermann (who lost 51/49 to Vicki Schneider in HD17). Many others exist.
You can check out the Candidate list too.
So with 4 filing days left, if you want info on filing, it's here. One of the dozen or so Missourians on dKos may spot this diary and spot a district close to them that is not contested (you can go here to find state house district maps). And all it takes to run for state rep is a receipt for a $50 filing fee. It takes $100 to run for Congress or State Senate. It takes $200 to run for statewide office.
Go Democrats and Go Missouri!