Does Monroe Have Fuzzy Math?

The Democratic candidate to become Southwest Missouri's Congressman is claiming he's closing the gap with heavily favored Republican incumbent Roy Blunt.

Richard Monroe is calling his race against Congressman Blunt a "horserace."

"By this time, it is normally a foregone conclusion that the Republican Blunt would win again with a 70% margin. With Congressional approval near single digits, southwest Missourians agree with the rest of the country that there needs to be a change in Washington, especially with Congress," said Monroe staffer David Harper in a press release Thursday.

Harper is claiming that Monroe has been able to reduce "Blunt's support to 47%," compared to Monroe's 41%. The release does not detail where the campaign gets these numbers from, if they are approval numbers or figures reflecting head-to-head match up. It's highly unlikely that Monroe would be that close to Blunt in a head-to-head poll.

Still, Harper said that Monroe stands for the same change State Treasurer Sarah Steelman stood for in her primary campaign for Governor. "Steelman bucked the Republican system with her reformer ideals, her standing against Blunt and the machine cost her, their money and the party votes. Many of Steelman’s voters were so outraged by Blunt’s bullying of the party that they are crossing over to support Democrat Richard Monroe," writes Harper in the release.

The Monroe campaign said it has been picking up support "without a lot of fanfare," through door-knocking, phone-calling and e-mailing.

"I’ve been out on the doors and at fairs since March but I can’t find his 70%," said Monroe in his release, referring to the level of support he was told Blunt would have. "I have seen a majority saying that they are ready for a change. I stand for the change that the folks in Southwest Missouri want," Monroe said.