Just days after the Democratic National Convention wrapped up in Denver, the Republican National Convention is getting underway in Saint Paul, Minnesota. A couple of veteran political reporters – Jo Mannies with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Steve Kraske with the Kansas City Star – expects to see as much talk about Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama as they do about GOP candidate John McCain.

Mannies says there have been a lot of negative comments from Republicans regarding the Obama candidacy, and she expects the negativity to continue. Kraske has no doubt that is going to happen because, in his view, the negative campaigning is working in places like Missouri and elsewhere in the country.

As for the need to reach out to certain voters, Mannies thinks McCain will tailor his message to suburban voters, saying most rural residents are likely to vote Republican while most urban voters can be expected to support Democrats. It is the suburban voters, she says, who hold the key to the election in November. Kraske goes along with that, adding he believes conservative voters – while they might have doubts about McCain – will support the Arizona Senator on election Day.

Download/Listen: Steve Walsh report (60 MP3)
Download/Listen: Campaign Watch – Steve Walsh interviews Jo Mannies and Steve Kraske (8:00 MP3)