Missouri held primaries on August 3 for the Constitution, Democratic, Libertarian and Republican Parties. Missouri does not have registration by party, and voters are free to choose any party’s primary ballot.
At least 3,529 voters chose to vote in the 2010 Libertarian primary. That is party’s second-best primary showing in Missouri history. By contrast, in the August 2008 primary in Missouri, only 1,729 voters had chosen the Libertarian primary ballot, and in March 2008, only 2,057 had chosen the Libertarian presidential primary ballot. Libertarians have had their own primary in Missouri in all elections starting in 1990.
The 2010 Constitution Party primary attracted at least 1,884 voters. That is the best Constitution Party primary turnout in Missouri history. The Constitution Party also had a primary in Missouri in 1998 and 2000.
At the 2010 primaries, the Libertarian Party nominated for both statewide offices, for eight of the nine U.S. House seats, for two State Senate seats, and for ten State House seats. The Constitution Party nominated for one statewide race, three U.S. House seats, two State Senate seats, and eighteen State House seats.
Legacy history of the heart land: Kansas is Bob Dole / GOP territory. Some of the University types are Dem or Lib or other wise not ‘right of attila the Hun’. Some of Kansas State U at Manhattan (aka: the Little Apple) and Kansas City, Kansas, (Republican President Andrew Johnson County ——- verses Democratic President Andrew Jackson County Missouri) is a pecular, unique shade of ‘liberal’.
The Jay Hawks of Lawrence, Kansas, is the only solid, secure ‘blue’ of the Sun Flower State.
Kansas as a whole, where the town of ‘Liberal’ is very conservative. It is much more Tucson / Pima County wise. ….. blue beacon of KU in a sea of wheat, er, ah, red.
Missouri much more State Flecks of Blue and Red across the state — like the of Arid Zona, where even the colleges / college educated of Phoenix / Maricopa County are not ‘blue’ like U of A and Tucson.
As chair of the Missouri LP’s candidate recruitment committee, I had a theory — that we could increase press coverage and Libertarian primary ballot selection (Missouri has an “open primary” in which each voter can take the ballot of any one party) by having contested primaries.
I didn’t notice a big bump in press coverage, but primary participation nearly doubled. Not sure how much of that was due to contested primaries for US Senate and a US House seat, and how much was from hard candidate work and a fairly aggressive party promotion/outreach campaign (“Fed Up in Missouri”).