This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
What the primary says about the general
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri - Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
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What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
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What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
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What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
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What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff
This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 6, 2008 - Fresh from a bruising but victorious primary, GOP gubernatorial candidate Kenny Hulshof took his campaign into enemy territory Wednesday afternoon by visiting a business in Jefferson County, Jay Nixon's home county, to talk about improving Missouri's economy. The trip marked Hulshof's first official campaign stop after defeating state Treasurer Sarah Steelman in Tuesday's primary battle to decide which Republican would take on Nixon, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate.
Hulshof visited Koller-Craft Plastic Products, a Fenton company that does injection molding of plastics for many companies. During his visit, Hulshof toured the plant and answered questions from an audience of about two dozen workers on issues ranging from the economy to health care.
One theme already emerging in Hulshof's campaign is an effort to link Nixon with Missouri's problems. During his victory speech Tuesday night in Columbia and again on Wendnesday, Hulshof said he wanted to contrast his "pro-jobs agenda and Nixon's desire to return to the failed policies of the past." Those policies included witholding money for public education and discussions about raising taxes.
"Do we want to move forward, grow jobs, the economy and deal with workforce issues? Or do we want to turn back the clock?" Hulshof asked.
The race for governor begins
House Majority Floor Leader Steven Tilley expressed some of those same concerns in an interview with the Beacon. He said voters "don't feel Nixon has done a good job in defending the state." Tilley cited the lawsuit that many school districts brought against the state, arguing that Missouri's school foundation formula shortchanged them. Ultimately the courts sided with the state, but Tilley criticized Nixon's handling of the case, saying it could have caused the state to lose money.
Tilley added that Nixon isn't going to get very far with voters this fall by making Gov. Matt Blunt's health-care cuts an issue.
"It's a joke, it's politics at its worst," Tilley says. "Anybody who knows anything about the budget knows that the state couldn't afford" not to make the cuts.
On the other hand, Tilley and many political scientists realize that this election won't be a cakewalk for Hulshof either.
One of Hulshof's biggest problems, Tilley says, is Hulshof's low name recognition across the state. Hulshof alluded to that problem Tuesday night, saying he intended to shake more hands across Missouri in an effort to connect with residents.
Tilley says Hulshof's advantages include his ability to "relate well with people, and his record for integrity speaks for itself. He was removed from the House Ethics Committee because he stood up for what he felt is right. That will help him with voters."
Without an expensive primary campaign, Jay Nixon has built up a $3 million war chest.
Credit Photo from the Nixon campaign
Nixon's advantages include name recognition and a campaign account that dwarfs Hulshof's. He is thought to have about $3 million, while Tilley says Hulshof probably has less than $500,000 in the bank.
While not responding directly to Hulshof's criticism, Nixon released a statement this morning that continued to argue that a vote for Hulshof is a vote for "four more years of the same failed policies of George W. Bush and Matt Blunt."
He said he intended to keep his promise to improve Missouri's health-care system and help turn the state's economy around by making college affordable and giving companies incentives for creating jobs, bolstering job training programs and focusing on science, research and technology.
{C}{C}{C}{C}
What the primary says about the general
{C}{C}{C}{C}
Russell Renka, a political scientist at Missouri State University in Springfield, says Hulshof's showing wasn't that good and Steelman's wasn't that bad, in spite of the outcome.
He said the fact that Hulshof didn't beat Steelman by a wide margin is an example of Hulshof's potential weaknesses against Nixon this fall. Hulshof won roughly 194,000 votes, compared to nearly 177,000 for Steelman. (In a primary with only token opposition, Nixon won 302,939 votes.)
"He's got a problem," Renka says of Hulshof. "I didn't think that Sarah Steelman was an effective candidate. She's inarticulate, and he's articulate, yet he didn't beat her by that much, and that's a problem going into the general election."
Renka and some other political scientists add that Hulshof could offset this issue by boosting his name recognition and helping Missourians get to know him better.
One of Hulshof's advantages is his "sterling reputation" on ethics issues, says Peverio Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri at Columbia. "He's also a reasonably appealing person, he's not strident and he comes across as calm and pleasant."
Still, Squire says, Hulshof must carve out his own political identity, one that separates him from Blunt.
"He's going to have to work hard distinguishing himself from the Blunt administration. Health care is a problem that will probably be part of the debate."
Voters' concerns about health care could hurt Hulshof, says Marvin Overby, another political scientist at the University of Missouri. "A lot of voters are retrospective; they look back rather than forward," he said. "They'll make their decisons based on what happened in the past and that's not going to help Hulshof."
And, Overby adds, Republicans "have to raise a hell of a lot of money quickly. This is a bad year because the Republican base isn't giving a lot of money because it feels this will be a bad year for the party. That becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy."
Contact Beacon staff writer Robert Joiner.
Robert Joiner Beacon staff