Onder concedes to Luetkemeyer, Baker makes victory speech

It seems that former Missouri tourism director Blaine Luetkemeyer of St. Elizabeth will face against State Rep. Judy Baker, D-Columbia in the general election for the 9th District Race.

Right now, Luetkemeyer is at 39.7 percent, about 10 points ahead of State Rep. Bob Onder, R-Lake St. Louis. Baker is at 44.1 percent to former state representative Steve Gaw’s 31.1 percent.

Both campaigns faced harsh criticism from their opponents. Baker weathered a storm of criticism from both Gaw and former state Sen. Ken Jacob, specifically about her veteran’s health care plan. Onder said Luetkemeyer supported amnesty for illegal immigration, which he contrasted against his newly-signed immigration bill.

Both candidates said they tried to stay out of the battle and called the criticisms “negative advertising.”

For more on all the elections, see the Missourian Web site.

9th District stances wrap-up

So although we’ve focused mostly on smaller things here at the Watchword, the 9th District candidates do have lots of ideas about lots of issues. Here are each of our stories in the Missourian about the issues, in case you missed them the first time around.

For gas prices click here, the economy here, health care here, the Iraq war here and immigration here.

Remember, the primary is on Tuesday and you can find a comprehensive voter’s guide in this weekend’s Missourian.

Post-Dispatch endorses Gaw and no one else

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch released their endorsement for the Ninth District this week, but declined to endorse any Republican.

Instead, they endorsed Steve Gaw:

His credentials are impeccable: He is a former speaker of the Missouri House who knows how to build coalitions and move legislation. He spent four years on the Missouri Public Service Commission, two of them as chairman, and is intimately familiar with how energy and regulatory issues affect consumers. He has a law degree and a degree in physics and — important in this largely rural district — raises saddle horses and farms in Holts Summit. We disagree with his support for increased offshore oil drilling, but we respect the intellectual rigor he brings to his positions.

See the full endorsement here.

Earlier, the Columbia Daily Tribune endorsed both Blaine Luetkemeyer and Danie Moore for the Republican race and Judy Baker for the Democratic race.

Jacob releases TV spot

Former senator Ken Jacob released the first television ad of his run for the Ninth District congressional seat.

In the ad, Jacob highlights the importance of withdrawing troops from Iraq, increasing jobs in the U.S., “rescuing” Social Security, and giving all Americans access to health care and education.

Jacob is in a four-way race against State Rep. Judy Baker, former Missouri Public Service Commission chairman Steve Gaw and Marion County Presiding Commissioner Lyndon Bode.

SECOND UPDATE: Vet gives support to Baker’s plan; Jacob keeps up criticism

Baker has been at odds with former state senator Ken Jacob about veterans’ health care. (See my article for the Missourian here and a blog post about their clash at the debate in Columbia.)

Now her plan has gained support from Dewey Riehn, a member of the American Legion, Vietnam Veterans of America, and National Legislative Service of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Riehn said that the VFW supports Baker’s plan because it is seeking additional ways of reaching out to rural veterans. In fact, VFW legislative spokesman Dennis Cullinan testified to the House Committee on Veterans Affairs that the organization supports a bill that would create a pilot program similar to Baker’s proposal.

Baker touts the committee’s unanimous passage of the bill as another show of support for plans like hers. The commitee is made up of both Republicans and Democrats, but was introduced by Republican Rep. Jerry Moran of Kansas.

Jacob’s campaign criticizes the bill for being more of a Republican plan than a Democratic one.

“Baker is running in a Democratic Primary, but offers Republican proposals,” Sam Hodge, Jacob’s campaign manager, said in a news release.

More on veterans’ health care in the Ninth District

Today we published a story about Ninth District candidates’ views on health care, with a sidebar about a debate between State Rep. Judy Baker, D-Columbia, and former state senator Ken Jacob. Although we didn’t have space to print it, we wanted to give you an idea of the other candidates’ stances about veteran’s health care.

UPDATED: Gaw announces endorsements

Former Missouri Public Service Commission Chairman Steve Gaw announced today a list of endorsements he has received.

The Communication Workers of America Locals 6310 and 6320 also endorsed Gaw. Jason Vellmer, vice president and legislative coordinator of both locals, said the two are planning to merge and together represent about 5,000 people. According to the CWA Web site, the organization represents workers in “telecommunications, broadcasting, cable TV, journalism, publishing, electronics and general manufacturing, as well as airline customer service, government service, health care, education and other fields.”

“He was the most labor-friendly candidate running for the primary from the democrat side,” Vellmer said. “He’s willing to support the employee Free Choice Act. He’s willing to support health care reform, and he is basically just friendly to just working class people.”

NAACP to hold candidate forum tonight

The Columbia chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People will hold a forum tonight for candidates in the August 5 primary.

Here are the candidates Columbia NAACP President Mary Ratliff said have confirmed their plans to attend:

• a representative from gubernatorial candidate Jay Nixon’s campaign
• Tom Schauwecker and Barbara Bishop, candidates for Boone County assessor
• Stephen Webber and Cande Iveson, candidates for 23rd District state representative
• Sid Sullivan and Karen Miller, candidates for Boone County Southern District commissioner
• Mary Still, candidate for 25th District state representative
• Ken Jacob, Judy Baker, Lyndon Bode and a representative from the campaign of Steve Gaw, all Democratic candidates for Ninth District representative in the U.S. House
• Dan Dunham, candidate for Boone County public administrator

The forum will begin at 7 p.m. at Second Missionary Baptist Church, 407 E. Broadway, and the public is invited. Attendees may enter from the Fourth Street door on the west side of the building or at the wheelchair-accessible entrance on the north side of the building.

Gaw highlights utilities record with second TV ad

Former Missouri Public Service Commission chairman Steve Gaw released his second TV spot today. The ad shows him outdoors and surrounded by supporters as he speaks about his intentions to “stand up to big oil and drug companies, just like when I stood up to the big utility companies in Missouri, when they tried to raise your rates.”

Gaw has said that an emphasis on domestic drilling (according to individual states’ decisions) while investing in alternative energy sources and cracking down on oil speculators would be his strategy to decrease gas prices.

Jacob prepared to self-finance; Ninth District candidates to debate in Kirksville

Of the Democratic candidates for the Ninth District, only former Sen. Ken Jacob has his campaign finance information available through the Federal Election Commission so far.

Jacob’s report shows that he has $73,415 on hand as of June 30. But according to a news release from his campaign, he is prepared to take out a $200,000 loan to finance his run for the U.S. House.

In the release, Jacob decried the role of money in politics, calling it “evil.”

“Rather than debating proposals, talking to voters and working on solutions, politicians are glued to the phone raising money for 30 second TV spots. Our politics has to change,” Jacob said in the release.

Jacob submitted his report early, while State Rep. Judy Baker, Marion County Commissioner Lyndon Bode and former Public Service Commission chairman Steve Gaw submitted theirs on Tuesday, which was the deadline for the quarter. Their numbers should be available soon.