Press Releases

Analyst Argues Gaw Strongest in November

June 16, 2008

The August primary election is just around the corner, and the pundits’ predictions are heating up.

Last week analysts focused on the hotly contested Democratic primary in the ninth Congressional district. Four candidates are vying for the nomination, but University of Missouri Political Science Professor and commentator Marvin Overby stated on KBIA’s “Talking Politics” that Democrats need “someone like a Steve Gaw” to win the seat in November. Overby’s KBIA commentary can be heard here and has since been picked up by the Columbia Tribune politics blog at http://blogs.columbiatribune.com/politics.

The Gaw campaign sees this as a serious momentum boost. “Steve is the only candidate with a shot,” said Gaw spokesman Jeremiah Levine. “As analysts continue making that point, Democratic voters who want to win will take notice.”

The ninth District candidates are former Senate Democratic Leader Ken Jacobs, State Representative Judy Baker, County Commissioner Lyndon Bode, and former Missouri House Speaker Steve Gaw. Baker and Jacobs are from Boone County, the biggest population center for Democratic primary voters in the ninth district. But Overby argued this could lead to a weakness in the general election. “While a moderate candidate like State Representative Judy Baker might be popular in a college town such as Columbia, she probably won’t attract voters district wide,” Overby said. “A more liberal Democrat is going to have a tougher time appealing to rural swing voters and conservative, suburbanite voters in St. Charles county and the like.”

Baker announced that she would challenge incumbent Congressman Kenny Hulsoff in 2007, before Hulsoff announced he would vacate the seat to run for Governor. When the seat became open, Bode, Jacobs and Gaw joined the race.