By Greg Giroux, CQ Staff

Missouri is one of 11 states holding elections for governor this year, and provides what is probably the Democrats’ best chance to capture a Republican-held seat. GOP Gov. Matt Blunt chose to retire rather than face what would have surely been a tough race against Democratic state Attorney General Jay Nixon.

There are also two highly competitive House races in the state this year, both in districts that Republicans are defending. In the northwest, four-term Republican Rep. Sam Graves faces a prominent Democratic recruit in well-financed Kay Barnes, the former mayor of Kansas City, which contributes about 120,000 residents at the southern end of the district. Much of the rest is rural and conservative-leaning, so it’s no surprise that Graves, a resident of the small northwestern town of Tarkio, is trying to brand Barnes as an urban liberal. Barnes counters by pointing out that she’s a native of St. Joseph, a town of 74,000 about 50 miles north of Kansas City. Read more…

Related:

 AP: St. Joseph mayor backs Graves for re-election

Barnes Campaign launches anti Graves website: “The Graves Truth”

Buchanan County: A Key for Missouri

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