By Annabeth Miller,
ShowMe Times Editor
Missouri has a presidential primary on Tuesday. Yet voters in the ShowMe State would barely know that it is on the political horizon.
Despite little enthusiasm and an almost “window dressing” attitude, Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan is encouraging Missourians to vote this Tuesday.
The Missouri presidential primary Tuesday will let voters cast ballots, but delegates for the Republican nomination won’t be chosen until a March 17 caucus.
That means spending $6 million or more on a “window dressing” of an election. The national Republican Party created a sequence for states to hold primaries and caucuses, directing Missouri to have an early March primary. But state law says it has to be Feb. 7. Party rules says that going out of the prescribed national order of things will invalidate the Missouri election and could cost the state half of if delegates to the national convention.
By Missouri chief election official is still encouraging voters to exercise the privilege to vote tomorrow.
"Missourians have a chance to make their voices heard, and I hope they show the political party insiders that they want to have a say in this process by going to the polls," Carnahan said. “Anytime voters cast their ballots it has an impact.”
All polling places in the state will open on February 7th at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. Any individuals in line by 7 p.m. will be allowed to cast their vote.
For the most part, national Republican candidates are “hop-scotching” right over the ShowMe state to contests. The only national candidate in the state over the weekend was Republican Presidential candidate, Rick Santorum . Santorum held rallies in Hannial, Columbia, Lee’s Summit and at William Woods University in Fulton.
During the rally in Fulton, Santorum stressed how important a win is for him at the polls on Tuesday even though Missouri’s primary is non-binding for delegate representation.
"Given the fact that Governor Romney has just come off of a big win, and it looks like he's going to win Nevada, it will be interesting to see how well we do here in light of that,” Santorum said. “And if we do exceptionally well, I think that it shows that in fact, we are the candidate that is the best to go up against Governor Romney as the conservative candidate in the race."
Newt Gingrich is not on the ballot in the Show-Me State because his campaign missed the deadline to file for the primary.
Mitt Romney today earlier this year he had the support of a number of state GOP leaders, including Senate President Pro Tem Rob Mayer of Dexter and Congressman Bill Long of Springfield.
“It’s an honor to have the support of so many conservative Missouri leaders,” said Mitt Romney. “This level of support shows that my message of restoring fiscal sanity to Washington is resonating with voters across the country. These supporters will be crucial to help me spread my message of creating jobs and cutting spending in the months to come.”
“The next election will be one of the most important in generations. We can choose to continue on the high-spending and economically stagnant path we are on, or we can elect Mitt Romney, a conservative businessman with a lifelong record of results. Missouri voters are looking for a change in direction for our country – that is why they will support Mitt Romney,” said Mayer.
