Stateline: Blunt faces tough road to re-election

Matt Blunt's road to re-election in 2008 is going to be a difficult one, according to an article in Stateline.org, which assesses Blunt's race with Attorney General Jay Nixon:

In Missouri, Gov. Matt Blunt (R) is trying to recover from bad press for deep Medicaid cuts. Looking even younger than his 36 years, Blunt faces a tough, experienced candidate in state Attorney General Jay Nixon (D), who has won statewide office four times and has been gearing up for well over a year.

Blunt’s prospects had improved somewhat in recent months, and bolstered by his position as vice chairman of the Republican Governors Association, Blunt outpaced Nixon in fund raising. However, a pending case before the Missouri Ethics Commission on campaign finance caps could force candidates to refund big donations, and Blunt stands to lose far more than Nixon. Moreover, Blunt won office in a year when the Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), pulled his resources out of the state early. In 2008, Democrats are poised to contest the Show Me State more aggressively.