Missouri slips from political bellwether status this fall

Source: USA Today

Missouri has been a bellwether state for more than 100 years, with presidential candidates lavishing attention on Show-Me State voters and spending millions on field operations, glossy campaign mailers, and TV ads. But this election? Not so much.

This year, Missouri isn't on the list of top swing states — those vote-rich battlegrounds that political experts and campaign strategists say will determine who wins the White House on Nov. 6. Most political handicappers instead have Missouri in the "leans Republican" column.
So even though Barack Obama lost Missouri by fewer than 4,000 votes in 2008, the president's re-election campaign isn't expected to make a major investment in Missouri this time around. And Mitt Romney probably won't be tromping through the state for a bevy of big rallies or small meet-and-greets, either.
"We used to look to Missouri," said Larry Sabato , director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics. "We don't anymore."

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/story/2012-06-24/missouri-no-longer-political-bellwether/55795366/1


Obama can win other states easier, he should $ in MO if it remains competitive in the fall to put Mittens on the defense but it's too early to spend $ right now