Sam Page Poised to Win

One of my most pleasant political moments of the past year was the opportunity to sit down and chat with Dr. Sam Page, the leading Democratic nominee for Missouri Lieutenant Governor. Dr. Page is bright, compassionate, genuine and freakishly well-qualified for the Lieutenant Governor position.

The lieutenant governor spot is usually a place to park a political hack while he waits for his turn to run for something else. That's how the Republican party is using it now, and thus we have Peter Kinder taking up space in that office.

The power of incumbency ought to have given Kinder a massive lead, but Dr. Sam Page's dedication to the position and hard work have now drawn him even with Kinder in cash on hand, and the momentum has shifted strongly in Dr. Page's advantage. Kinder actually lost money in the past quarter, and Dr. Page is now even with him in cash on hand.

More shockingly, Kinder made a terrible mistake in hiring Richard AuBuchon - a central figure in the Blunt email scandal - to be his Chief of Staff. Kinder's prior Chief of Staff was forced to resign after he got caught furnishing pornography to a minor. In a nutshell, Kinder has gone from a guy who got caught in an internet scandal to one who has created one. Great work.

The indefatigable Stephen Bough over at Blog CCP has more on this tale of a quiet, hard-working, well-qualified Democrat kicking the daylights out of a Republican who should have had an easy time retaining his office, if he weren't Peter Kinder.