Politico: Blunt Trying To Freeze The Field

BUT CAN HE CLEAR THE STEEL?

***THE 2010 U.S. SENATE RACE***

Politico: Rep. Roy Blunt has courted leading Missouri fundraisers who have pledged to help him raise millions for a statewide campaign, effectively cutting off oxygen to any prospective primary challengers.

A Missouri Republican familiar with Blunt’s thinking says the seven-term congressman has been talking with former GOP Sen. Jim Talent to dissuade him from challenging him in a primary, with some state Republicans now suggesting that Talent may wait until 2012 to run in a rematch against Sen. Claire McCaskill.

BUT STEELMAN SAYS BLUNT'S DECISION WILL HAVE NO IMPACT ON HER:

"There’s a contrast between me and Congressman Blunt. He’s an insider, I’m an outsider. And there’s an obvious difference between our gender. I think the Republican Party needs more women in leadership positions," Steelman told Politico.