The head of the Missouri Democratic Party expects the party to rally behind Barack Obama now that an intense primary season is over. State Democratic Party Chairman John Temporiti expects little fallout from the hard fought presidential primary between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, a battle that evenly split Missouri Democrats.
Temporiti expects Obama first to solidify his base in St. Louis and Kansas City and work to win over rural Missouri. In the February 5th presidential primary, Obama squeaked out a victory over Clinton by winning big in the metro areas. Obama won the five counties comprising the St. Louis and Kansas City metropolitan areas. Clinton won 109 counties; the suburbs and rural counties.
Temporiti expects Obama to do well against Republican John McCain in Missouri. The biggest fear Democrats have is that Obama might concede the state and pull out before November. Democrats still seethe over the decision by Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry to pull out of the state six weeks before the 2004 election. Temporiti doesn’t expect that to happen as Democrats and Republicans fight hard for a state considered up for grabs.
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