COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - Missouri Republican Ed Martin got additional help Monday for his attorney general campaign from Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
The two Republicans were in Columbia for a private discussion about business issues. They also spoke with voters and posed for photos on the patio of a restaurant several blocks from the campus of the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Perry, who earlier this year campaigned in Cape Girardeau for Martin, said the GOP candidate would fight for Missourians. Opposition to the federal health care overhaul has been an important part of Martin's campaign.
"I need partners," Perry said. "I need an attorney general of Missouri that will be a partner to the attorney general of Texas and attorney generals across this country who are pushing back on a federal government that continues to try to tell the states again how to educate our children, how to deliver health care."
Martin, an attorney from St. Louis, served as the chief of staff to Republican Gov. Matt Blunt. He's trying to unseat Democratic Attorney General Chris Koster, who took office in 2009 and is seeking a second term.
Last week, Florida U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio attended a fundraiser in suburban St. Louis for Martin.