The Politics of the 4th

With just 5 weeks until primary day in Missouri, the candidates were out in force today pushing for votes in several different Ozarks parades.

I spent the day at the Independence Parade in Marshfield, where campaigns battled the rain early on. Parade watchers told us Sen. Jim Talent was there pounding the pavement. Moving around, we must've missed him. Claire McCaskill's campaign had a small contingent of supporters in the parade, led by the candidate's energetic mother, 77-year-old Betty McCaskill.

I was able to grab Betty briefly, as she moved down the parade line, yelling, "Vote for Claire, vote for my daughter!" When I asked if there were any votes for her daughter to win in Webster County, she replied, "She'll come a lot closer than she did in the last race for Governor."

In the 2004 Governor's race, Matt Blunt trounced McCaskill 68%-31% in Webster County. McCaskill pulled in just 4,651 votes.

Though we weren't able to catch up with Senator Talent, his presence in the parade and surrounding area seemed strong. On our way out to Webster County, we saw some Talent signs along the Interstate 44. We did not spot any McCaskill signs. At the parade, we saw many more people with Talent For Senate signs and stickers than we saw with McCaskill paraphernalia.

Longtime parade watcher Jack McFadin told us he's a Talent supporter, "because he's a fine Christian man." He said many in the area hold strong religious beliefs and that those supporters would come through for Talent in November. "The religious right is important in Webster County and nationally," McFadin said.

But McFadin also cautioned that he realizes the race is close. "One poll puts him behind, the other puts him ahead. We hope he's ahead," McFadin said.