Show Me the Way
Political analysts will be watching today's primary results from Missouri with particular interest.
Why the "Show Me" state?
According to Thomas Fitzgerald, a staff writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer, the state has voted for the winner in every presidential general election since 1900 with one exception. (In 1956, the state voted for former Illinois Gov. Adlai Stevenson against incumbent Dwight Eisenhower.)
And, Fitzgerald wrote in a story published yesterday, "This is the first time in years that Missouri's Republican and Democratic primaries have been early enough to be relevant in determining the party nominees...[A]nalysts say the results tomorrow might well reflect what happens in the nation."
Fitzgerald explained "That's because Missouri is representative in most important political demographics. The state is a mix of the Northern Plains -- up next to Iowa -- and the Deep South, the Ozarks region bordering Arkansas. It has two big urban centers, Kansas City, western in character, and St. Louis, considered an eastern enclave. Both cities have large African American populations and suburban swing voters.
"Overall, Missouri has about the same mix of urban and rural residents as the nation as a whole; the same percentage of unionized workers; the same percentage of African Americans. And so on. People like to say that you are in the ‘real' America here."
"It's not quite a one-to-one correlation, but if a candidate can win statewide here, he or she appeals to a wide variety of the electorate in the U.S. as a whole," said George Connor, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield.
Democratic candidates are vying for Missouri's 72 delegates, which will be awarded proportionally. The Republican contest is winner-take-all, with 58 delegates up for grabs. Missouri voters do not have to register with a party and can vote in whichever primary they choose, Fitzgerald reported.