Blunt, Kander looking ahead to November in Senate race

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Roy Blunt has served in Congress for two decades, but as he seeks re-election to the Senate, it's uncertain if his lengthy political career will help or hurt him.
Donald Trump's rise to the Republican nomination for president was fueled, in part, by anti-establishment fervor. Even in a solidly red state, Missouri Republicans know the 66-year-old Blunt is facing a tough challenge from Democratic Secretary of State Jason Kander, so much so that former President George W. Bush came to suburban St. Louis last month to help raise money for Blunt's campaign.
"In a year like this, I wouldn't be surprised by anything," said Jeremy Walling, a political science professor at Southeast Missouri State University. "My gut says Blunt pulls this out, but at the same time I do think Kander is a very strong candidate."
Both must first get past the Aug. 2 primary, but they are clearly focused on November.
Kander, 35, served four years in the Missouri House before winning election as secretary of state in 2012. He often touts his military background - Kander is an Army National Guard officer who served a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
Blunt, too, is a former Missouri secretary of state - in the 1980s. He served 14 years in the U.S. House before being elected to the Senate in 2010.
Both are raising a lot of money. For the period of April through June, Blunt raised nearly $2.4 million and spent about $1 million, while Kander raised $1.8 million and spent more than $720,000. Blunt had a total of $6.8 million in his campaign coffers as of mid-July, compared to $3.8 million for Kander.
Both candidates appear to be hedging their bets on their parties' presidential candidates - Blunt supports Trump but did not attend the Republican National Convention in Cleveland last week. And, with presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's popularity in Missouri in question, Kander is not attending the Democratic convention in Philadelphia.
During a recent campaign stop in St. Louis, Kander criticized Blunt and his Senate colleagues for failing to address key issues like terrorism and concerns about the Zika virus.
"For whatever reason, politicians in Washington feel entirely comfortable putting their party ahead of their country and deciding that they're going to fail to do their jobs," Kander said. "And Missourians and Americans find this unacceptable, and we all deserve a whole lot better."
Blunt, speaking at a recent campaign event in suburban St. Louis, cited his record of pushing for jobs and reducing burdening regulations on industry.
"People have choices in elections, and I am definitely fighting for Missourians, for health care policies that make sense instead of the Obama policies that don't make sense, for utility bills that people can pay, for job opportunities," Blunt said. "If (voters) want somebody who likes more regulation and fewer jobs, they'll have a chance to have that."
Both candidates face little-known primary challengers.
Other Republican candidates are Bernie Mowinski, a 22-year military veteran from Camdenton; Kristi Nichols, a Tea Party organizer from Independence; and Ryan Luethy, a financial services worker from St. Louis.
Kander's challengers are Cori Bush, an ordained pastor and registered nurse from St. Louis; Robert Mack, a military veteran from St. Louis; and a man who goes by the name Chief Wana Dubie from Salem who told the Salem News he would "smoke the competition" in the election.
Two Libertarian candidates are running: Jonathan Dine, of Riverside, who received 6 percent of the vote in a 2012 run against Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill; and Herschel Young, of Harrisonville, who received 5.6 percent of the vote in a 2014 bid against incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Vicky Hartzler in Missouri's 4th Congressional District.
Also running are Constitution Party candidate Fred Ryman, a former teacher, pastor, singer and actor who now is an assistant manager at a Columbia furniture store; and Gina Bufe, a write-in candidate who works as a psychiatric mental health clinical nurse specialist in St. Louis.