When Republican Sen. Kit Bond announced in January that he would not seek a fifth term in 2010, this race went immediately into the Toss Up column. It would be several weeks before any candidate announced a run to succeed Bond, but Missouri may be the purest swing state in the nation.
Consider the 2008 presidential contest. While President Obama may have won a decisive victory nationally, GOP nominee John McCain eked out a 3,903-vote victory after a lengthy recount. The congressional delegation is almost evenly divided. The parties split the two Senate seats and Republicans hold five of the nine congressional districts, a margin that has remained static over the last four elections.
Democrat Jay Nixon easily won the open gubernatorial contest last year, 58 percent to 40 over then-Rep. Kenny Hulshof, who was hobbled by a debilitating primary and wasn’t able to find his footing in the general election. Still, contests for most of the remaining statewide constitutional offices were very competitive. Democrats currently hold four of five of those offices, but the victors in three of the
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